frostbite
Americannoun
-
frostbites
plural
verb (used with object)
noun
-
destruction of tissues, esp those of the fingers, ears, toes, and nose, by freezing, characterized by tingling, blister formation, and gangrene
-
a type of small sailing dinghy
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of frostbite
Explanation
People get frostbite when their skin is exposed to extremely cold temperatures for long enough that their tissue is damaged. High altitude hikers in snowy conditions are vulnerable to frostbite. If your friend scolds you for not wearing your gloves on a bitterly cold day, she's not just giving you a hard time — she might be worried that you'll get frostbite on your fingers. Severe frostbite results in dead tissue and skin, and even the amputation of fingers or toes. Frostbitten came before frostbite, from the idea that your painfully cold fingers have been bitten by frost.
Vocabulary lists containing frostbite
Wintry Words
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Maus I: My Father Bleeds History
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Chill Out! Synonyms for "Cold"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The claims, for which Homeland Security spent $96 million, show detainees were treated for a wide variety of conditions, including strokes, pregnancy, suicide attempts and frostbite.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
At this point, the frostbite Shahsawar and ten others had suffered was turning parts of their bodies black.
From BBC ● Jul. 1, 2026
Eleven of the 12 men and boys who spoke to the BBC - including a 13-year-old - eventually lost limbs to frostbite.
From BBC ● Jul. 1, 2026
"I spoke to the doctors -- he has some frostbite, but otherwise seems okay," Pemba Sherpa added.
From Barron's ● Jun. 4, 2026
Other soldiers came down with frostbite after swimming ice-choked rivers.
From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis
"We are managing his frostbites, cold injuries, hydration and trauma. He is being further evaluated and will be in our ICU."
From BBC ● Jun. 5, 2026
Second-and third-degree frostbites are treated like burns; sometimes victims are hospitalized.
From Time Magazine Archive
We slept hour after hour, ate a little, tended our frostbites, inflammations, and bruises, mindspoke, slept again.
From "The Left Hand of Darkness" by Ursula K. Le Guin
The living wildlings Jon sent off to have their wounds and frostbites tended.
From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin
My companions are unendingly cheerful, but we are all on the verge of serious frostbites, and though we constantly talk of fetching through I don't think anyone of us believes it in his heart.
From Scott's Last Expedition Volume I by Robert Falcon Scott
In other words, “North Country” seems to be a waxing philosophical in the “True Detective” tradition, but the end-of-the-earth environs inspire thoughts that are tied more to Indigenous myths and frostbit hallucinations.
From New York Times ● Jan. 21, 2024
“The Cro-Magnon” look, he calls it — wide forehead, frostbit eyes, a chin so square it must make mathematicians swoon.
From New York Times ● Jun. 14, 2018
His frostbit ears are still sensitive today, 50 years later.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 25, 2017
“I didn’t bite you once! You can keep your underdrawers. Gawdalmighty, them pants is wet, ain’t they? You ain’t frostbit, are you?”
From "October Sky" by Homer Hickam
Next morning the ends of my toes were so frostbit by the extreme cold of the country, that I could no longer go barefooted.
It appears that frostbiting has not changed much in 340 years.
From Time Magazine Archive
To the roaring fire set, frostbiting would seem a study in self-torture.
From Time Magazine Archive
"There are lots of fancy ideas about the motivation for starting frostbiting," says Knapp.
From Time Magazine Archive
We started facing a very keen, frostbiting wind.
From Scott's Last Expedition Volume I by Robert Falcon Scott
A minor misstep or bout of ill-preparation comes with dire consequences, from the slightest of ankle sprains to bygone absent frostbitten fingers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 23, 2025
One particular tale from “Chinese Menu” tells of how dumplings once apparently cured a village’s frostbitten ears.
From Salon ● Feb. 8, 2024
Despite McNish building a new boat on the pack ice with frostbitten hands, he was denied the Polar Medal because he had fallen out with Shackleton.
From BBC ● Feb. 20, 2023
The C.D.C. warns against walking on frostbitten feet or toes or massaging affected areas, which can increase damage.
From New York Times ● Feb. 3, 2023
The person’s bare right hand, naked to the frigid wind and grotesquely frostbitten, was outstretched in a kind of odd, frozen salute.
From "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer
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