frosting

American  

[fraw-sting, fros-ting] / ˈfrɔ stɪŋ, ˈfrɒs tɪŋ /

noun

1. a sweet mixture, cooked or uncooked, for coating or filling cakes, cookies, and the like; icing.

2. a dull or lusterless finish, as on metal or glass.

3. a process of highlighting the hair by bleaching selected strands.

4. a material used for decorative work, as signs, displays, etc., made from coarse flakes of powdered glass.

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idioms

1. the frosting on the cake, something added to make a thing better or more desirable. Also icing on the cake.

frosting British  

/ ˈfrɒstɪŋ /

noun

1. a soft icing based on sugar and egg whites

2. Also called: icing.  a sugar preparation, variously flavoured and coloured, for coating and decorating cakes, biscuits, etc

3. a rough or matt finish on glass, silver, etc

4. slang the practice of stealing a car while the owner has left it idling to defrost the windows and heat the engine

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Other Word Forms

• nonfrosting
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of frosting

First recorded in 1610–20; frost + -ing ¹

Example Sentences

Beyond serving customers at the counter, I also worked in the back, finishing donuts through tasks like jelly filling, frosting and powdering.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 7, 2026

Everything else is just frosting on the cake.

From MarketWatch • Jan. 30, 2026

Susan Prunty’s bakery in Medford, Ore., sold about 25 Christmas cookie decorating kits through the middle of last December, complete with a dozen freshly baked sugar cookies, buttercream frosting, and sprinkles.

From Barron's • Dec. 24, 2025

Mascarpone frosting, lightly scented with cardamom and lemon, crowns the whole, airy yet substantial, a gentle counterpoint to the cake’s density.

From Salon • Dec. 18, 2025

Hyacinth said, pulling Laney away from the dessert table, where she was sticking her fingers into the carrot cake frosting.

From "The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street" by Karina Yan Glaser

Related Words

• glaze