frost-bite

Definition

1. Noun:
   • Injury from freezing: "frost-bite" is a medical condition where skin and underlying tissues are damaged due to extreme cold, typically affecting extremities like fingers, toes, ears, or nose. The affected area becomes numb, pale, and hard.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • The mountaineer suffered severe frost-bite on his fingers after the storm. (Injury to fingers from extreme cold.)
  • Doctors treated the frost-bite by slowly warming the patient's hands. (Medical care for cold-induced damage.)
  • Frost-bite can lead to permanent tissue loss if not treated promptly. (Potential long-term consequence of freezing injury.)

Advanced Usage

• "to have frost-bite": to be afflicted with this condition.

  • After falling into the icy river, he had frost-bite on both feet. (He suffered cold injury on his feet.)

• "frost-bite sets in": the condition begins to develop.

  • If you stay outside too long, frost-bite can set in within minutes. (The injury starts to occur.)

Variants and Related Words

• Frostbitten (adj): affected by frost-bite.
  • Her frostbitten toes were wrapped in bandages. (Her toes had been injured by freezing.)
• Frostbite (n): an alternative spelling of "frost-bite" (more common in modern usage).
  • Frostbite is a serious risk for hikers in winter. (The condition of cold injury.)

Synonyms

• Cold injury: a broader term for damage caused by low temperatures.
• Freeze damage: damage resulting from freezing conditions.

Related Idioms

• "to get frost-bite": to suffer from this injury.

  • Don't stay out in the blizzard, or you'll get frost-bite. (You will suffer cold injury.)

• "frost-bite warning": a caution about conditions that could cause this injury.

  • The weather report issued a frost-bite warning for the overnight hours. (A caution about dangerous cold.)