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

The cake had a butterscotch frosting, which was brown and thus “weird.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 20, 2026

Everything else is just frosting on the cake.

From MarketWatch • Jan. 30, 2026

“Big wasn’t a crush, he was a crash,” Carrie says to Miranda as she peels down the wrapper on a cupcake topped with bright pink buttercream frosting.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 11, 2026

It’s when we enjoy slices of birthday cake to our hearts’ content, savoring every single crumb and licking our plates clean of any frosting.

From Salon • Jan. 10, 2026

"Edel, you're always in trouble," Valerie says, as she sticks her nose into a cart of sweets and her wet hair gets frosting in it.

From "The Belles" by Dhonielle Clayton

Related Words

• glaze