What does winterkilled mean?
Winterkilled is an adjective for something—especially a crop, plant, or other vegetation—that has been killed by cold and other conditions associated with winter. In North American agricultural writing, the term often appears as “winter-killed wheat,” referring to winter wheat destroyed by severe cold, ice, or related soil and weather conditions, though it can describe damage from winter more generally. It is not normally a formal technical term: plain alternatives such as “killed by frost” may be clearer outside farming contexts. The word is a transparent compound of winter and kill and is usually hyphenated when it modifies a noun, as in “winter-killed seedlings.” Used predicatively, it may be written as one word, as in “the seedlings were winterkilled.” The term is especially useful for identifying a loss of life caused directly by seasonal cold rather than by drought, disease, pests, or non-fatal frost injury.
adjectiveKilled by winter conditions, especially severe cold or frost. The term usually refers to crops, plants, or vegetation.
- Killed or destroyed by cold, frost, or other winter conditions, especially in reference to crops or vegetation.
"The early freeze winterkilled much of the wheat."
"The early freeze winterkilled much of the wheat."
"Several ornamental shrubs were winterkilled during the prolonged cold."
When winter itself becomes the killer, a harvest is said to be “winterkilled.”
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of winterkilled
Winterkilled is an English compound formed from winter and kill. Winter is inherited from Germanic, while kill came into Middle English from a Germanic source; both elements were established in English before the compound acquired its agricultural use. The compound's principal sense describes plants or crops destroyed by winter conditions.
Related word forms
How winterkilled is actually used
Chiefly used in North American agriculture and gardening. It is commonly hyphenated, especially when attributive, while unhyphenated predicative use also occurs. Outside specialist contexts, “killed by frost” may be more readily understood.
Easily confused with winterkilled
“Winterkill” is the verb meaning to kill by winter conditions; “winterkilled” is its past-tense and participial form or a compound adjective describing something that has been killed.