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windburn

UK/ˈwɪndbɜː(ɹ)n/US/ˈwɪndbɜː(ɹ)n/
nounC1Rare in speech; mostly a word you read · #15,252 of 15,258Too rare in one of the two pools to compare — fewer than 20 uses in speech or in writing

Windburn is sore reddened skin caused by cold wind. Suffer windburn, windburn on his cheeks, guard against windburn.

It looks like sunburn and often is partly sunburn, since the same conditions bring both, but the wind's own contribution is stripping the oil and moisture from exposed skin. Barrier cream on the face is the standard defence for anybody working outdoors.

Definitions of windburn

  1. 1nounwindburnSore reddened skin caused by cold wind.C1

    “After a day of skiing, her cheeks were red and sore with windburn.”

windburn is a skin injury.

Where it comes from

Wind plus burn, a modern compound on the pattern of sunburn.

From wind + burn.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practised in A Song of Ice and Fire

Practise this word

windburn in the wild

  • Aloe vera acemannan may be used in skin lotions, cosmetics, ointments and gels for minor burns, skin abrasions, insect bites, and windburn.

    Aloe vera

  • Nonetheless, the accepted existence of windburn remains a widely held misconception.

    Windburn

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.