: rain that freezes or partly freezes as it falls from the sky
Concerned that ice pellets—also known as sleet—were a larger hazard than previously thought, the Federal Aviation Administration in late 2005 adopted strict limits on planes taking off in such icy conditions.—
Susan Carey and Andy Pasztor
Susan Carey and Andy PasztorThe wind blew bitterly cold, and the boughs of the old tree crackled under falling sleet.—Harriet Jacobs
compare freezing rain, hail entry 1, snow entry 1
Harriet JacobsExamples of sleet in a Sentence
Noun
The snow turned to sleet and made driving very dangerous.
Recent Examples on the Web
Amanda Greenwood, MSNBC Newsweek, 31 Mar. 2026
When this writer foolishly forgot her iPods inside the Palais, the 15-minute walk to fetch them — during which I was almost toppled over by wind and accosted by sleet — was enough to make her hole up in her hotel room for the rest of the day.
—Marta Balaga, Variety, 28 Mar. 2026
Hope everyone enjoyed the rain, sleet, thunder, wind and power outages yesterday.
—Aj Willingham, AJC.com, 17 Mar. 2026
Scattered snow and sleet showers will sweep through Maryland during the afternoon and early evening hours.
—Cutter Martin, CBS News, 16 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for sleet
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Noun
Maine Parts of the central Highlands, the North Woods, and the far eastern and northern parts of Maine could see up to 4 inches of sleet and snow from Tuesday afternoon into mid-Wednesday morning.
—Amanda Greenwood, MSNBC Newsweek, 31 Mar. 2026
When this writer foolishly forgot her iPods inside the Palais, the 15-minute walk to fetch them — during which I was almost toppled over by wind and accosted by sleet — was enough to make her hole up in her hotel room for the rest of the day.
—Marta Balaga, Variety, 28 Mar. 2026
Hope everyone enjoyed the rain, sleet, thunder, wind and power outages yesterday.
—Aj Willingham, AJC.com, 17 Mar. 2026
Scattered snow and sleet showers will sweep through Maryland during the afternoon and early evening hours.
—Cutter Martin, CBS News, 16 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for sleet
Cite this Entry
“Sleet.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sleet. Accessed 3 Apr. 2026.
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