From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishfrostfrost1 /frɒst $ frɒːst/ ●●○ noun 1 [countable, uncountable]DNCOLD very cold weather, when water freezeslate/early/first frost Even in May we can sometimes get a late frost.hard/heavy/sharp/severe frost (=extremely cold weather) three continuous nights of hard frost the risk of frost damage to crops2 [uncountable]DN ice that looks white and powdery and covers things that are outside when the temperature is very cold The grass and trees were white with frost.COLLOCATIONS – Meanings 1 & 2adjectivesa severe frost (=when the temperature falls several degrees below freezing point)Many plants were damaged by the severe frost.a hard/heavy frost (=a severe frost)We’ve had three continuous nights of hard frost.a sharp frost (=a sudden severe frost)There had been a sharp frost overnight.ground frost (=frost that forms only on the ground)Scotland should have a dry night, with a touch of ground frost in northern glens.an early frost (=one that happens before winter)I hoped the early frost wasn’t a sign of a bad winter to come.a late frost (=one that happens in late spring)There’s always the danger of a late frost killing the buds.verbsthe frost meltsThe frost was gradually melting.be covered in frostThe lawn was covered in frost.protect something against frostThe plants need to be protected against frost.frost + NOUNfrost damage (=damage to plants, caused by frost)Some crop regions may have suffered frost damage.
Examples from the Corpus
frost• Frost covered all the windows.• A frost warning was issued for most of South Carolina.• During the first few weeks, check that they haven't been lifted by frost or pecked out by birds.• The Ohio valley is expecting the first frost of the season by Monday morning.• At a great distance, the ghostly frost of a snow peak seemed suspended from the clear sky.• Kevin Lindsay, a farmer in the northwest Iowa town of Correctionville, had frost on the inside of his windows.• Or late frosts, and drizzle throughout August?• Here and there the frost had drawn trees and other patterns on the windowpanes.• There was frost on the windows and a chill in the air.• After that it was all weather: frosts and rains and spring and summer, and the long days growing longer.• Already the grass was becoming crisp with frost.late/early/first frost• It would never survive, of course; the slightest hint of a late frost and it would wither and drop.• But late frosts may have hit the barleys, he believes.• To see that the sowing is begun sufficiently early to avoid risks of early frosts. 17.• Or late frosts, and drizzle throughout August?• The next morning they lay burned and blasted, blackened by the first frost, their seeds promising their resurrection.• When the first frosts came he moved back down to the village.• The early frost today was a worry.• Experts are blaming cool, wet weather throughout June, perhaps coupled with late frosts.frostfrost2 verb [transitive] DFC especially American English to cover a cake with a mixture of powdery sugar and liquid SYN ice British English → frost over/up→ See Verb tableExamples from the Corpus
frost• Overnight all the windowpanes had been frosted over.• Continue beating while adding Karo syrup a little at a time, until frosting peaks.• Mrs Clancy's was a marble cake frosted white and decorated with chocolate curls and chocolate creams.• As the particle is frosted with droplets of supercooled water, it begins the six-mile plunge to Earth.Origin frost1 Old English related to freeze