frost-bound

7.6

Land made hard and frozen so people and vehicles cannot pass

adjective
/frɔst-baʊnd/

: cubierto de escarcha

The fields were frost-bound and impossible to plough until the thaw.

Examples

We trekked across the frost-bound landscape under a pale winter sun.
During January, the river became frost-bound, halting all boat traffic.
The frost-bound ground made it difficult to plant seeds.
Many frost-bound roads were closed due to the heavy snowfall.
The fields were frost-bound and impossible to plough until the thaw.
During January, the river became frost-bound, halting all boat traffic.
The frost-bound ground made it difficult to plant seeds.

Synonyms

snowed in

vsfrost-bound

9 3.4

Not able to leave a place because heavy snow blocks the roads

expresses immobility caused by frozen soil hardness rather than snow pile obstruction

snowbound

vsfrost-bound

4 5.2

Unable to leave a place because heavy snow blocks roads

means frozen ground makes movement impossible rather than snow blockage

icebound

vsfrost-bound

7.7

Thick ice surrounds ships and harbors, stopping boats and blocking access

refers to hard frozen ground that is immovable rather than solid ice blockage

weather-bound

vsfrost-bound

Specialized

8.2

Unable to leave or move because of bad weather

is limited to situations where frost makes the area hard or impassable

How Frozen

icebound

7.7

frost-bound

7.6

frozen

1 1.0

frosty

11 1.0

Surface Forms

frost-bound positive

Morphology

frost-bound = frost + bound (transparent) = frost + bound

The meaning 'made immovable or impassable by frost' follows directly from 'frost' + 'bound' (i.e., bound by frost), a readily inferable compound.

Etymology

Frost-bound comes from frost ('a thin layer of ice') and bound ('tied' or 'held'). It paints the picture of land or water 'tied' by ice, so it means the ground or an area made hard and impossible to travel across because of freezing.