winterkill

American  

[win-ter-kil] / ˈwɪn tərˌkɪl /

verb (used with or without object)

1. to kill by or die from exposure to the cold of winter, as wheat.

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noun

1. an act or instance of winterkilling.

2. death resulting from winterkilling.

winterkill British  

/ ˈwɪntəˌkɪl /

verb

1. to kill (crops or other plants) by exposure to frost, cold, etc, or (of plants) to die by this means

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Other Word Forms

• winterkilling adjective

Etymology

Origin of winterkill

First recorded in 1810–20; winter + kill ¹

Example Sentences

Because buckwheat is not frost-tolerant, late-season plantings can be left to winterkill in your beds.

From Seattle Times

“It should be noted that winterkill this year was minimal, which gives the crop some advantage.”

From Reuters

Some 15 to 20 percent of the region’s soft red wheat crop may be at risk of winterkill early next week, the Commodity Weather Group said.

From Reuters

This is an extract from Winterkill by Cal Flyn, published in Granta 142: Animalia.

From The Guardian

Leave it, and they will stay: any tree, every bit of branch and lovely dense thickety-thick, the tumbled bramble, the untidy winterkill — that’s where the birds were.

From Seattle Times