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Definition of frost in English:

frost

Pronunciation /frôst/ /frɔst/

See synonyms for frost

Translate frost into Spanish

noun

1A deposit of small white ice crystals formed on the ground or other surfaces when the temperature falls below freezing.
‘the lanes were glistening with frost’
- ‘The sky was a clear, pale blue now, and it seemed to be drawing what heat there was from the ground, leaving only frost and little patches of dry snow.’
- ‘There was frost on the ground and a flurry of snow in the air as I set off from the car park and along the footpaths winding through woodlands and close to a meander of the River Calder.’
- ‘Still there was no snow, but there was frost glittering on the ground.’
- ‘Row covers trap the warmth that radiates up from the earth much like the way that a cloud cover holds temperatures and prevents frost from forming.’
- ‘We had set out reluctantly on a Friday evening at the end of a hard working week through a wintry countryside glittering with frost and wreathed in freezing mist.’
- ‘Vermont in November was hardly Siberia, but there was frost on the ground, and they spent an hour shivering and exercising to stay warm.’
- ‘Water vapor will condense directly on the surface to form frost.’
- ‘You look outside and see it - that shining, shimmering gloss of frost on the ground, on the car, and in the trees.’
- ‘As much as I dislike extreme cold, a nice frost on the lawn would not be unwelcome.’
- ‘Severe ground frost is possible at night, especially if the ground is dry.’
- ‘On the other hand, it was shown that epiphytic orchids survived severe frost in Mexican montane forests.’
- ‘Always ensure that service pipes are at an adequate depth to prevent frost damage.’
- ‘Native to Central and South America, peppers don't tolerate frost.’
- ‘Though all leeks tolerate some frost, some overwinter better than others.’
- ‘Once the bulbs have firmly rooted, frost is tolerated quite well and an extra cover is not needed.’
- ‘The glass hit the ground like sleet on a pavement and sparkled like a morning frost.’
- ‘The soft and wet grass under her shoes crunched slightly, hardened by the morning frost.’
- ‘There was frost on every window and icicles hung where they could.’
- ‘Before explaining fog and frost on a window, we'll begin with water in the air.’
- ‘There's no snow yet, but occasionally I wake up to beautiful, lacy frost on my window.’
ice crystals, ice, rime, rime ice, verglas
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1. 1.1A weather condition or period of cold weather in which deposits of frost form.
  ‘when the hard frosts had set in’
  ‘Frequencies of tropical cyclones, heat-waves, bushfires and frosts are also linked to the Southern Oscillation.’
  ‘This is especially useful if the garden is in a cold spot and prone to late frosts or if wet weather has made the soil claggy.’
  ‘The weather has been fine enough but there have been very sharp frosts & bitterly cold wind.’
  ‘So far we have only had a mild winter, but serious frosts and foggy weather are likely to become more frequent as we move into the New Year.’
  ‘Frequent frosts or inclement weather kill off pests that would be devastating to crops, or plague-carrying insects that affect the population.’
  ‘Because bushes flower in early spring, they may need protection from late-spring frosts in cold climates.’
  ‘Weather records show that there were far more hard frosts in the 1950s before the impact of global warming.’
  ‘He predicts sharp frosts throughout the Swindon area on both Friday and Saturday night, with temperatures only just above freezing during Christmas Day itself.’
  ‘In particular, there is likely to be a reduction in water for southern and eastern Australia, with more fires and heatwaves, fewer frosts, less snow and more coral bleaching.’
  ‘Drought across much of the country, particularly in areas not normally subject to drought, and late frosts have led to reductions in land based production.’
  ‘In the days before refrigeration, hogs were slaughtered and cured at the first heavy autumn frost.’
  ‘In winter 1995/1996 the first hard frost occurred at the end of December.’
  ‘Sow seeds indoors about six weeks before the average date of the last spring frost in your area.’
  ‘In each case, work should proceed after first killing frost and ideally before snow cover.’
  ‘In cooler areas, plant dill a week or two before your last hard frost.’
  ‘Fall frosts can damage actively elongating shoots in the autumn and adversely affect growth the following spring.’
  ‘Similarly, an autumn frost which destroys leaves can interrupt the orderly build-up of reserves in the vine.’
  ‘With good spring rains, they can survive frosts and require minimal or no watering.’
  ‘If an unexpected frost occurs, undamaged fruits can be salvaged and ripened.’
  ‘Mustard greens, another Southern favorite, should be planted six to eight weeks before the first fall frost.’
  cold snap, period of cold weather
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2. 1.2A chilling or dispiriting quality, especially one conveyed by a cold manner.
  ‘there was a light frost of anger in Jack's tone’
  ‘A sharp frost crept into relations on June 8, the day the votes were counted in the Nice Treaty referendum and the British general election.’
  ‘Richard stood, giving Amy some papers, then left leaving the room with a cold frost.’
  ‘The Englishwomen never appeared to exchange any words yesterday, but the frost between them made the NIA seem closer to Turin than the Bullring.’
  ‘In the event, the frost won and clubs absent from the Fort William conference certainly were not indulging in friendlies.’
  ‘Valerine heard the frost in Mint's voice as she crossed her arms across her chest and stared at them.’
  coldness, coolness, frostiness, ice, iciness, glaciality, frigidity
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3. 1.3British informal, dated in singular A failure.
  ‘even the state soirées were a frost’

transitive verb

[with object]

1Cover (something) with or as if with small ice crystals; freeze.
‘each windowpane was frosted along its edges’
- ‘Headed for the warmth of the Student Center and morning coffee, I notice that the display window maintained by the Fashion Design department is frosted over.’
- ‘Steam puffed from the mouths of the quarterbacks as they barked out the plays, and from their teammates as they huffed each bone-chilling breath; at the end, Fisher's mustache was frosted over.’
- ‘The room beyond the metal door was cold, explaining why the window of the door was frosted over (delayed reaction, understandable during these circumstances).’
- ‘When she saw today's photos of the lake, snow on the edges of things and frosting the bones of the trees, she said, ‘Oh.’’
- ‘Snow had fallen and was covering the lawns of every house, and frosting the tops of every roof and the pavement outside the houses.’
- ‘Outside, snow fell: fat flakes adhering to the windows and frosting the glass in translucent white.’
- ‘Sunlight from outside made the ice frosting the windowpanes glow.’
- ‘Even in her newly repaired car her breath clouded, frosting the windows further more.’
- ‘Then the first cold front rolls in, slays the mums, frosts the lawn, whistles down the chimney and signals the reign of the new season.’
- ‘The trees seem to be worst hit - I've heard experts describe the trees as being ‘in distress’ - and are now in process of shutting down, shedding leaves well before they are frosted.’
- ‘Even in her newly repaired car her breath clouded, frosting the windows further more.’
- ‘I am always suspicious of pubs whose windows are not frosted.’
- ‘Through the grimy, age frosted windows I could see where we had entered the complex earlier.’
- ‘My face, though frosted with new snow, has a warmth in the cheeks that defends the bone.’
- ‘Underneath the navy blue blazers, cocktail napkins and frosted champagne glasses lie this barren layer.’
- ‘Outside, snow fell: fat flakes adhering to the windows and frosting the glass in translucent white.’
- ‘To frost glasses, dip glasses in cool water and place in freezer for five minutes.’
- ‘We frosted the panes using white paint, and shaved a little off its length.’
- ‘The windows were frosted over, so I had to scrape and scrape, all the while thinking the clock's ticking, the poison is seeping into his system!’
- ‘Now, if most of you are like me, you know the heat isn't getting turned on until the windows are frosted over, so there's gonna be a lot of tip-toeing around, wool gear and heavy blankets, seen?’
frozen, frozen over, iced over, ice-bound, ice-covered, iced up, frosty, frosted, glassy, like a sheet of glass, slippery
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1. 1.1no object Become covered with small ice crystals.
  ‘a mustache that frosts up when he's ice-climbing’
  ‘Add the rest of the ingredients in the order above and shake with loads of ice until the shaker frosts up.’
  ‘At times it was so cold that they could see their equipment frosting up in front of them.’
  ‘And off we toddled, me with my evening gin frosting in my hand, and Dolly with an air of great relief that the election was over, for today at least.’
  ‘Both are rumoured to be haunted, and as the common gets bleaker throughout the autumn and the lawns frost over nearer Christmas, it is easy to imagine the rumours are true.’
2. 1.2North American Decorate (a cake, cupcake, or other baked item) with icing.
  ‘Benji whistled to himself as he headed towards the kitchen of his parents' bakery, tying on his apron and already smelling the sweet scent of a cake ready to be frosted.’
  ‘Though he spends more time managing than frosting cakes these days, he still bakes most mornings.’
  ‘Cookies that have been frosted with a butter cream type frosting cannot be stacked.’
  ‘Chill the lemon curd until the cake has cooled and is ready to be frosted.’
  ‘Instead of the traditional baby cakes, try baking a batch of baby cupcakes which guests can frost and decorate.’
  ‘Teresa glanced up from the cake she was frosting.’
  ‘Heart shaped cookies can be frosted in pinks and reds and then other colors used for sprinkles on them.’
  ‘The result is a cookie that looks like it has been frosted but the frosting is baked on and hard.’
  ‘Chill cake about 20 minutes, then frost with remaining room-temperature buttercream.’
  ‘"I think I saw the cook frosting a cake, " she confided.’
  ‘So get out there and frost the cake (you'll be glad you did).’
  cover with icing, glaze
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3. 1.3US Tint hair strands to change the color of isolated strands.
  ‘His hair was bleached and frosted to perfection, and, on closer examination, his purple suede pants proved to be women's, and quite possibly my size.’
  ‘Men and boys had a clean cut spiked hair that was frosted at the tips and smoothed down.’
4. 1.4Injure (a plant) by freezing weather.
5. 1.5informal Anger or annoy.
  ‘such discrimination frosted her no end’