Frost vs. Freeze — What's the Difference?

Frost is a thin layer of ice on a solid surface, which forms from water vapor in an above-freezing atmosphere coming in contact with a solid surface whose temperature is below freezing, and resulting in a phase change from water vapor (a gas) to ice (a solid) as the water vapor reaches the freezing point. In temperate climates, it most commonly appears on surfaces near the ground as fragile white crystals; in cold climates, it occurs in a greater variety of forms.

To pass from the liquid to the solid state by loss of heat.

A deposit of small white ice crystals formed on the ground or other surfaces when the temperature falls below freezing

To acquire a surface or coat of ice from cold

Cover (something) with or as if with frost; freeze

To become clogged or jammed because of the formation of ice

Decorate (a cake or biscuit) with icing

To be at that degree of temperature at which ice forms

A deposit of minute ice crystals formed when water vapor condenses at a temperature below freezing.

To be killed or harmed by cold or frost

A period of weather when such deposits form.

To be or feel uncomfortably cold

A cold manner or period of disaffection

To become fixed, stuck, or attached by or as if by frost

To cover with frost.

To stop functioning properly, usually temporarily

To damage or kill by frost.

To become motionless or immobile, as from surprise or attentiveness

To cover (glass, for example) with a roughened or speckled decorative surface.

To become unable to act or speak, as from fear

To cover or decorate with icing

To become rigid and inflexible; solidify

To bleach or lighten the color of (hair) with dye so that some but not all strands are changed in color.

To convert into ice.

(Slang) To anger or upset

To cause ice to form upon.

To become covered with frost

To cause to congeal or stiffen from extreme cold

A cover of minute ice crystals on objects that are exposed to the air. Frost is formed by the same process as dew, except that the temperature of the frosted object is below freezing.

To preserve (foods, for example) by subjecting to freezing temperatures.

The cold weather that causes these ice crystals to form.

To damage, kill, or make inoperative by cold or by the formation of ice.

(figurative) Coldness or insensibility; severity or rigidity of character.

To make very cold; chill.

(obsolete) The act of freezing; the congelation of water or other liquid.

To immobilize, as with fear or shock.

A shade of white, like that of frost.

To chill with an icy or formal manner

A disappointment; a cheat.

To stop the motion or progress of

(television) A kind of light diffuser.

To fix (prices or wages, for example) at a given or current level.

(transitive) To cover with frost.

To prohibit further manufacture or use of.

(intransitive) To become covered with frost.

To prevent or restrict the exchange, withdrawal, liquidation, or granting of by governmental action

(transitive) To coat (something, e.g. a cake) with icing to resemble frost.

To anesthetize by chilling.

To anger or annoy.

(Sports) To keep possession of (a ball or puck) so as to deny an opponent the opportunity to score.

(transitive) To sharpen (the points of a horse's shoe) to prevent it from slipping on ice.

The act of freezing.

(transitive) To bleach individual strands of hair while leaving adjacent strands untouched.

The state of being frozen.

The act of freezing; - applied chiefly to the congelation of water; congelation of fluids.

A spell of cold weather; a frost.

The state or temperature of the air which occasions congelation, or the freezing of water; severe cold or freezing weather.

A restriction that forbids a quantity from rising above a given or current level

Frozen dew; - called also hoarfrost or white frost.

Especially of a liquid, to become solid due to low temperature.

Coldness or insensibility; severity or rigidity of character.

(transitive) To lower something's temperature to the point that it freezes or becomes hard.

To injure by frost; to freeze, as plants.

(intransitive) To drop to a temperature below zero degrees celsius, where water turns to ice.

To cover with hoarfrost; to produce a surface resembling frost upon, as upon cake, metals, or glass; as, glass may be frosted by exposure to hydrofluoric acid.

To be affected by extreme cold.

To roughen or sharpen, as the nail heads or calks of horseshoes, so as to fit them for frosty weather.

(intransitive) (of machines and software) To come to a sudden halt, stop working (functioning).

Ice crystals forming a white deposit (especially on objects outside)

(intransitive) (of people and other animals) To stop (become motionless) or be stopped due to attentiveness, fear, surprise, etc.

Weather cold enough to cause freezing

(transitive) To cause someone to become motionless.

The formation of frost or ice on a surface

(figuratively) To lose or cause to lose warmth of feeling; to shut out; to ostracize.

United States poet famous for his lyrical poems on country life in New England (1874-1963)

To cause loss of animation or life in, from lack of heat; to give the sensation of cold to; to chill.

Decorate with frosting;

(transitive) To prevent the movement or liquidation of a person's financial assets

Provide with a rough or speckled surface or appearance;

Of prices, spending etc., to keep at the same level, without any increase.

Cover with frost;

(Internet) To prevent from showing any visible change.

Damage by frost;

A period of intensely cold weather.

A halt of a regular operation.

(computer) The state when either a single computer program, or the whole system ceases to respond to inputs.

(curling) A precise draw weight shot where a delivered stone comes to a stand-still against a stationary stone, making it nearly impossible to knock out.

A block on pay rises or on the hiring of new employees etc.

A frieze.

The act of congealing, or the state of being congealed.

To become congealed by cold; to be changed from a liquid to a solid state by the abstraction of heat; to be hardened into ice or a like solid body.

To become chilled with cold, or as with cold; to suffer loss of animation or life by lack of heat; as, the blood freezes in the veins.

To congeal; to harden into ice; to convert from a fluid to a solid form by cold, or abstraction of heat.

To cause loss of animation or life in, from lack of heat; to give the sensation of cold to; to chill.

The withdrawal of heat to change something from a liquid to a solid

Weather cold enough to cause freezing

An interruption or temporary suspension of progress or movement;

Fixing (of prices or wages etc) at a particular level;

Change to ice;

Stop moving or become immobilized;

Be cold;

Cause to freeze;

Stop a process or a habit by imposing a freeze on it;

Be very cold, below the freezing point;

Change from a liquid to a solid when cold;

Prohibit the conversion or use of (assets);

Anesthetize by cold

Suddenly behave coldly and formally;