—| C1 (advanced) |—

In North American English, this word typically means:

• NOUN: injury to a body part due to overexposure to extreme cold (standard)

EXAMPLES:

1. “Make sure you put gloves on before shovelling. You don’t want to get frostbite out there; it’s -30 degrees Celsius this evening.”

2. “Growing up, many kids didn’t want to wear their winter jacket or mittens at recess because it was foolishly considered “uncool” to do so. Despite the frostbite that they endured, they never did learn to bundle up. I guess it’s better to damage your limbs than to dress in layers.”

3. “What would you rather? Have your tongue stuck to a metal pole in -40 degree weather for an entire night or have frostbite so bad that you have to amputate a thumb?”

   “That’s a tough one. But I’d probably say ‘have frostbite so bad that I have to amputate a thumb.’ At least then I would have a working tongue and healthy face. An entire night at -40 would probably make it so that my tongue would need to be cut off. My entire face would be frostbitten, actually! No, thank you! Thumb it is.”

ASSOCIATE WORDS:

Some other forms of the word “frostbite” include:

• ADJECTIVE: frostbitten

As a kid, I got frostbite a few times on my hands and arms. It was never super severe, though. Just some reddening and light stiffening of the skin. My circulation and suppleness came back after warming up and receiving some skin ointment from the doctor. Though frostbite is not something that you should intentionally try to get–in fact, avoid it at all costs if you can–it is not always as severe as what is described in example 3.

Have you ever had frostbite before? Let me know in the comments below.