Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun Injury or destruction of skin and underlying tissue, most often that of the nose, ears, fingers, or toes, resulting from prolonged exposure to freezing or subfreezing temperatures.
  • transitive verb To injure or damage by freezing.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To affect with or as with frost-bite; nip or wither, as with frost.
  • To expose to the effect of frost or of a frosty atmosphere.
  • noun A condition or the effect of being partly or slightly frozen, as a part of the body.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun The freezing, or effect of a freezing, of some part of the body, as the ears, fingers, toes, or nose. Severe frostbite can lead to the loss of fingers or toes.
  • transitive verb To expose to the effect of frost, or a frosty air; to blight or nip with frost.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun The freezing, or effect of a freezing, of some part of the body.
  • verb transitive To expose to the effect of frost, or a frosty air; to blight or nip with frost.
  • verb intransitive To engage in winter sailboating.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun destruction of tissue by freezing and characterized by tingling, blistering and possibly gangrene

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

frost +‎ bite

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word frostbite.

Examples

  • My hands and face were burning with that "frostbite is just around the corner" sensation after only a few minutes.

    "Our blood is gold; nothing to fear." greygirlbeast 2010

  • Skin destroyed by frostbite is completely black and looks loose and flayed, as if burnt.

    Worst Case Scenario - Frostbite 2007

  • Skin destroyed by frostbite is completely black and looks loose and flayed, as if burnt.

    Archive 2007-03-01 2007

  • "Exposure," the chapter about hypothermia and frostbite, is quite graphic and medically detailed in its depiction of exactly what happens to the body as it freezes to death.

    The Children's Blizzard by David Laskin: Questions 2004

  • I tried to describe exactly what happens to the human body as it freezes to death -- as well as the processes that result in frostbite.

    An interview with David Laskin 2010

  • And that's to say nothing of the half-sunburn I've got going, not to be confused with Jason's frostbite, which is now half peeled away thank goodness, or the problem with my tender tootsies that has got me better than halfway to disability.

    Archive 2006-06-01 Jay 2006

  • Brandon's manner was so matter-of-fact, she knew he must be serious, even though she had never heard of anything called frostbite before.

    Never Come Down Black, Michelle 1996

  • Suffering environmental injuries in a combat zone, such as frostbite or sunburn

    Heroes or Villains? 2010

  • Injuries such as frostbite, hypothermia, and others are linked to body cooling.

    Potential impacts of direct mechanisms of climate change on human health in the Arctic 2009

  • Direct impacts of winter warming in some regions may include a reduction in cold-induced injuries such as frostbite and hypothermia and a reduction in cold stress.

    Human Health and Climate Change in the Arctic 2009

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.

  • What you get when you cross a snowman with a vampire? See snowpire.

    January 7, 2010