Adjacent Words

Frost definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

FROST, n.
1. A fluid congealed by cold into ice or crystals; as hoar-frost, which is dew or vapor congealed.
He scattereth the hoar-frost like ashes. Psalms 147.
2. The act of freezing; congelation of fluids.
The third day comes a frost, a killing frost.
3. In physiology, that state or temperature of the air which occasions freezing or the coagelation of water.
4. The appearance of plants sparkling with icy crystals.
FROST, v.t.
1. In cookery, to cover or sprinkle with a composition of sugar, resembling hoar-frost; as, to frost cake.
2. To cover with any thing resembling hoarfrost.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: ice crystals forming a white deposit (especially on objects outside) [syn: frost, hoar, hoarfrost, rime]
2: weather cold enough to cause freezing [syn: freeze, frost]
3: the formation of frost or ice on a surface [syn: frost, icing]
4: United States poet famous for his lyrical poems on country life in New England (1874-1963) [syn: Frost, Robert Frost, Robert Lee Frost] v
1: decorate with frosting; "frost a cake" [syn: frost, ice]
2: provide with a rough or speckled surface or appearance; "frost the glass"; "she frosts her hair"
3: cover with frost; "ice crystals frosted the glass"
4: damage by frost; "The icy precipitation frosted the flowers and they turned brown"

Merriam Webster's

biographical name Robert Lee 1874-1963 American poet • Frostian adjective

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Etymology: Middle English, from Old English; akin to Old High German frost — more at freeze Date: before 12th century 1. a. the process of freezing b. a covering of minute ice crystals on a cold surface; also ice particles formed from a gas c. the temperature that causes freezing 2. a. coldness of deportment or temperament ; an indifferent, reserved, or unfriendly manner b. failure <the play was…a most dreadful frost — Arnold Bennett> II. verb Date: 1635 transitive verb 1. a. to cover with or as if with frost; especially to put icing on (cake) b. to produce a fine-grained slightly roughened surface on (as metal or glass) 2. to injure or kill (as plants) by frost 3. to make angry or irritated <that really frosts me> intransitive verb to become frosted

Britannica Concise

Atmospheric moisture that crystallizes directly on the ground and on exposed objects. The term also refers to the occurrence of subfreezing temperatures that affect plants and crops. Frost crystals, sometimes called hoarfrost in the aggregate, form when water vapor in the atmosphere passes into the ice-crystal phase without going through the intermediate liquid phase. Frost forms under conditions that would form dew if the temperature were above freezing. In agriculture, frost refers to the freezing of the water in plant cells, which causes the cells to burst and thereby destroys the plant.

NOAA Weather Glossary

The formation of thin ice crystals on the ground or other surfaces. Frost develops when the temperature of the exposed surface falls below 32 degrees Fahrenheit and water vapor is deposited as a solid.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. & v. --n. 1 a (also white frost) a white frozen dew coating esp. the ground at night (windows covered with frost). b a consistent temperature below freezing-point causing frost to form. 2 a chilling dispiriting atmosphere. 3 sl. a failure. --v. 1 intr. (usu. foll. by over, up) become covered with frost. 2 tr. a cover with or as if with frost, powder, etc. b injure (a plant etc.) with frost. 3 tr. give a roughened or finely granulated surface to (glass, metal) (frosted glass). 4 tr. US cover or decorate (a cake etc.) with icing. Phrases and idioms: black frost a frost without white dew. degrees of frost Brit. degrees below freezing-point (ten degrees of frost tonight). frost-work tracery made by frost on glass etc. Derivatives: frostless adj. Etymology: OE f. Gmc

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Frost Frost, n. [OE. frost, forst, AS. forst, frost. fr. fre['o]san to freeze; akin to D. varst, G., OHG., Icel., Dan., & Sw. frost. [root]18. See Freeze, v. i.] 1. The act of freezing; -- applied chiefly to the congelation of water; congelation of fluids. 2. The state or temperature of the air which occasions congelation, or the freezing of water; severe cold or freezing weather. The third bay comes a frost, a killing frost. --Shak. 3. Frozen dew; -- called also hoarfrost or white frost. He scattereth the frost like ashes. --Ps. cxlvii. 16. 4. Coldness or insensibility; severity or rigidity of character. [R.] It was of those moments of intense feeling when the frost of the Scottish people melts like a snow wreath. --Sir W. Scott. Black frost, cold so intense as to freeze vegetation and cause it to turn black, without the formation of hoarfrost. Frost bearer (Physics), a philosophical instrument illustrating the freezing of water in a vacuum; a cryophous. Frost grape (Bot.), an American grape, with very small, acid berries. Frost lamp, a lamp placed below the oil tube of an Argand lamp to keep the oil limpid on cold nights; -- used especially in lighthouses. --Knight. Frost nail, a nail with a sharp head driven into a horse's shoe to keen him from slipping. Frost smoke, an appearance resembling smoke, caused by congelation of vapor in the atmosphere in time of severe cold. The brig and the ice round her are covered by a strange black obscurity: it is the frost smoke of arctic winters. --Kane. Frost valve, a valve to drain the portion of a pipe, hydrant, pump, etc., where water would be liable to freeze. Jack Frost, a popular personification of frost.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Frost Frost, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Frostted; p. pr. & vb. n. Frosting.] 1. To injure by frost; to freeze, as plants. 2. To cover with hoarfrost; to produce a surface resembling frost upon, as upon cake, metals, or glass. While with a hoary light she frosts the ground. --Wordsworth. 3. To roughen or sharpen, as the nail heads or calks of horseshoes, so as to fit them for frosty weather.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(frosts) When there is frost or a frost, the temperature outside falls below freezing point and the ground becomes covered in ice crystals. There is frost on the ground and snow is forecast... The wind had veered to north, bringing clear skies and a keen frost. N-VAR

Easton's Bible Dictionary

(Heb. kerah, from its smoothness) Job 37:10 (R.V., "ice"); Gen. 31:40; Jer. 36:30; rendered "ice" in Job 6:16, 38:29; and "crystal" in Ezek. 1:22. "At the present day frost is entirely unknown in the lower portions of the valley of the Jordan, but slight frosts are sometimes felt on the sea-coast and near Lebanon." Throughout Western Asia cold frosty nights are frequently succeeded by warm days.

"Hoar frost" (Heb. kephor, so called from its covering the ground) is mentioned in Ex. 16:14; Job 38:29; Ps. 147:16.

In Ps. 78:47 the word rendered "frost" (R.V. marg., "great hail-stones"), _hanamal_, occurs only there. It is rendered by Gesenius, the Hebrew lexicographer, "ant," and so also by others, but the usual interpretation derived from the ancient versions may be maintained.

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

frost (kephor, "hoar-frost," Ex 16:14; Job 38:29; chanamal, perhaps "the aphis," Ps 78:47; qerach, "cold," Ge 31:40; Job 37:10 the King James Version; Jer 36:30):

1. Formation:

A temperature of freezing or lower is called frost. Dew forms when the temperature is decreased; and if below freezing, the dew takes the form of a white film or covering over rocks and leaves. This white covering is called hoar-frost. Like dew it is the result of condensation of the moisture of the air on objects which radiate their heat quickly. In order that condensation may take place the atmosphere must be saturated. Frost may be expected on clear, still nights when the radiation is sufficient to reduce the temperature below the freezing-point.

In Syria and Palestine frost is a very rare occurrence at sea-level; but on the hills and elevated plains it is usual in winter, beginning with November, and on the highest elevations throughout the year. Late spring frosts in March or early April do great damage to fruit.

2. In Syria and Palestine:

In clear weather there is often a great variation in the temperature of the day and the night, especially on the inland plains, so that literally, as Jacob said to Laban, "In the day the drought consumed me, and the frost by night" (Ge 31:40); "In the day to the heat, and in the night to the frost" (Jer 36:30; compare Jer 22:19), a passage which suggests that Jehoiakim's corpse was left unburied.

3. In Egypt:

The meaning of chanamal, translated "frost" in Ps 78:47 (see above), "He destroyed .... their sycomore-trees with frost" (m "great hail stones"), is uncertain. "Frost is unknown in Egypt, and Gesenius suggests `ants,' comparing it with Arabic namal" (Temple, BD, S.V.).

4. Figurative Uses:

The manna in the wilderness is compared to hoarfrost. "A small round thing, small as the hoarfrost" (Ex 16:14). Manna is occasionally found in Syria now as a flaky, gelatinous substance formed on bushes and rocks. The elements of Nature are indications of God's power, and are referred to as signs of His might: "By the breath of God frost is given" (Job 37:10 the King James Version). "The hoary frost of heaven, who hath gendered it?" (Job 38:29); "He destroyed their vines with hail, and their sycamore-trees with frost" (Ps 78:47); "He scattereth the hoar-frost like ashes" (Ps 147:16).

Alfred H. Joy

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. n. 1. Rime, hoar-frost, frozen dew, white-frost. 2. Cold manner, reserve, frigidity, iciness, stiffness, want of cordiality, unsociability. II. v. a. 1. Ice, cover with frosting. 2. Whiten, sprinkle with white, sprinkle with gray hairs. 3. Frost-bite, injure by frost or cold, nip. 4. Sharpen, point (said of a horse).

Foolish Dictionary

An old flame after the engagement is broken off.

Moby Thesaurus

Jack Frost, benumb, besnow, bite, bitter weather, black frost, blanch, bleach, bleak weather, bomb, bust, cap, chalk, chill, chilliness, climax, cold snap, cold wave, cold weather, coldness, consummate, coolness, crest, crown, culminate, cut, depth of winter, disaffinity, dull thud, enmity, etiolate, fizzle, flat failure, flop, floperoo, freeze, freezing weather, frost line, frost over, frost smoke, frostbite, go through, grizzle, hail, hard winter, head, hoar, hoarfrost, ice, ice over, ice up, iciness, incompatibility, incompatibleness, inhospitality, inimicality, killing frost, lemon, nip, numb, outtop, overarch, overtop, peak, penetrate, personal conflict, pierce, raw weather, refrigerate, rime, rime frost, sharp frost, silver, sleet, snap, snow, snow in, snow under, strain, subzero weather, surmount, tension, tip, top, top off, total loss, turkey, unamiability, uncordiality, unfriendliness, ungeniality, unsociability, washout, white, white frost, whiten, winter, wintry weather, wintry wind, zero weather