often attributive
1
a
: frozen water
b
: a sheet or stretch of ice
2
: a substance resembling ice
especially
: the solid state of a substance usually found as a gas or liquid
ammonia ice in the rings of Saturn
3
: a state of coldness (as from formality or reserve)
4
a
: a frozen dessert containing a flavoring (such as fruit juice)
especially
: one containing no milk or cream
b
British
: a serving of ice cream
6
: an undercover premium paid to a theater employee for choice theater tickets
7
iced; icing
1
a
: to coat with or convert into ice
b
: to chill with ice
c
: to supply with ice
2
: to cover with or as if with icing
3
: to put on ice
4
: secure sense 1b
made two free throws … to ice the win—
Jack McCallum
Jack McCallum5
: to shoot (an ice hockey puck) the length of the rink and beyond the opponents' goal line
6
slang
: kill sense 1a
1
: to become ice-cold
2
a
: to become covered with ice
—often used with up or over
b
: to have ice form inside
əs
: act
service
: quality
justice
: condition
cowardice
Iceland
1
Immigration and Customs Enforcement
In March 2003, the Homeland Security Act set into motion what would be the single-largest government reorganization since the creation of the Department of Defense. One of the agencies in the new Department of Homeland Security was the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, now known as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement or ICE.—www.ice.gov/history
www.ice.gov/history2
in case of emergency
Enter an ICE (in case of emergency) listing in the address book of your cell phone. Place the ICE acronym next to a person who can assist emergency workers if any important medical decisions need to be made.—Andrew Weil
Andrew Weil3
internal combustion engine
4
International Cultural Exchange
Synonyms
Examples of ice in a Sentence
Noun
The steps were coated with ice.
Ice formed on the car's windows.
The ice melted quickly in the hot sun.
She skated out onto the ice.
He almost fell through a hole in the ice.
Fill the glass with ice.
He gave her some ice for her birthday.
Verb
Ice the glasses before you fill them.
with that win, the team has pretty much iced a spot in the play-offs
Recent Examples on the WebRocio Fabbro, Quartz, 3 May 2024
Eyes recovered but could not be saved Nurses at South Florida State Hospital gave rescue workers Patient 2’s eyes, preserved in ice, to take to the hospital, police reported.
—Carol Marbin Miller, Miami Herald, 3 May 2024
The lawyer also suggested that Chelsea Piers may have violated state whistle-blower regulations because the coaches had previously complained about health and safety concerns at the rinks after a ventilation unit fell from the rafters onto the ice during a late-night hockey game.
—David Waldstein, New York Times, 3 May 2024
Serve over ice with a grapefruit wedge garnish for an extra flavor.
—Dominique Fluker, Essence, 3 May 2024
But my favorite trips involve physical hurdles: hiking (Kilimanjaro), cycling (The Tour de France route), ice climbing (The Canadian Rockies).
—Abby Ellin, Condé Nast Traveler, 2 May 2024
Andreas Englund and Viktor Arvidsson made the goal possible, quickly moving the puck the length of the ice in two passes, freeing Lizotte to score on a wrister from the right circle.
—Kevin Baxter, Los Angeles Times, 2 May 2024
The Morrell was plowing a path through the ice, but near Whitefish Point, both ships were caught in a storm.
—Frank Witsil, Detroit Free Press, 1 May 2024
On the play, McDavid reached to control a loose puck at the blue line, deking toward the center of the ice, then spinning away from Anderson before passing to Hyman in the slot for a tap-in.
—Kevin Baxter, Los Angeles Times, 23 Apr. 2024
Erin Jensen, USA TODAY, 2 May 2024
In one photo, Huntington-Whiteley, a mom of two, could be seen blowing out the candle on her cake, which featured a vintage white icing design complete with shining pearls.
—Charlotte Phillipp, Peoplemag, 21 Apr. 2024
Do not restrict blood flow by applying a tourniquet or icing the wound.
—Shaun Goodwin, Idaho Statesman, 18 Apr. 2024
Sam’s Club: This is a solid birthday cake, dense crumb with a nice vanilla flavor, fluffy cloud-like icing on the sweet side.
—Kimberly Cataudella Tutuska, Miami Herald, 3 Apr. 2024
During winter months, most of the adjacent Empire State Plaza is also walled off with temporary barricades to keep people from slipping and getting hurt on the icy plaza — even though there has hardly been any snow or ice this winter.
—Jay Root, New York Times, 28 Mar. 2024
Now kitchen chefs could use Wilton home baking tools to decorate stripes of icing.
—Annemarie Dooling, USA TODAY, 29 Feb. 2024
Strawberry Egg Doughnut – a mini Original Glazed® Doughnut dipped in strawberry icing with yellow and teal drizzles.
—Melissa Locker, Southern Living, 20 Mar. 2024
Also, still available at Krispy Kreme are the chain's limited-time Spring Minis Collection, which includes four new flavors of miniature doughnuts including a Mini Birds Nest Doughnut made with Cadbury Mini Eggs and a Robin's Egg Doughnut dipped in teal icing with daisy sprinkles.
—Mike Snider, USA TODAY, 30 Mar. 2024
Noun
Weaker-than-expected inflation readings have put plans for imminent interest rate cuts largely on ice as the U.S. Federal Reserve awaits more positive signs that inflation is inching down to its 2% target.
—Rocio Fabbro, Quartz, 3 May 2024
Eyes recovered but could not be saved Nurses at South Florida State Hospital gave rescue workers Patient 2’s eyes, preserved in ice, to take to the hospital, police reported.
—Carol Marbin Miller, Miami Herald, 3 May 2024
The lawyer also suggested that Chelsea Piers may have violated state whistle-blower regulations because the coaches had previously complained about health and safety concerns at the rinks after a ventilation unit fell from the rafters onto the ice during a late-night hockey game.
—David Waldstein, New York Times, 3 May 2024
Serve over ice with a grapefruit wedge garnish for an extra flavor.
—Dominique Fluker, Essence, 3 May 2024
But my favorite trips involve physical hurdles: hiking (Kilimanjaro), cycling (The Tour de France route), ice climbing (The Canadian Rockies).
—Abby Ellin, Condé Nast Traveler, 2 May 2024
Andreas Englund and Viktor Arvidsson made the goal possible, quickly moving the puck the length of the ice in two passes, freeing Lizotte to score on a wrister from the right circle.
—Kevin Baxter, Los Angeles Times, 2 May 2024
The Morrell was plowing a path through the ice, but near Whitefish Point, both ships were caught in a storm.
—Frank Witsil, Detroit Free Press, 1 May 2024
On the play, McDavid reached to control a loose puck at the blue line, deking toward the center of the ice, then spinning away from Anderson before passing to Hyman in the slot for a tap-in.
—Kevin Baxter, Los Angeles Times, 23 Apr. 2024
Verb
Einbinder is more than happy to give a review of the Doan’s Bakery confection: a coconut cake featuring chunks of white chocolate, iced with cream cheese frosting and topped with shredded coconut.
—Erin Jensen, USA TODAY, 2 May 2024
In one photo, Huntington-Whiteley, a mom of two, could be seen blowing out the candle on her cake, which featured a vintage white icing design complete with shining pearls.
—Charlotte Phillipp, Peoplemag, 21 Apr. 2024
Do not restrict blood flow by applying a tourniquet or icing the wound.
—Shaun Goodwin, Idaho Statesman, 18 Apr. 2024
Sam’s Club: This is a solid birthday cake, dense crumb with a nice vanilla flavor, fluffy cloud-like icing on the sweet side.
—Kimberly Cataudella Tutuska, Miami Herald, 3 Apr. 2024
During winter months, most of the adjacent Empire State Plaza is also walled off with temporary barricades to keep people from slipping and getting hurt on the icy plaza — even though there has hardly been any snow or ice this winter.
—Jay Root, New York Times, 28 Mar. 2024
Now kitchen chefs could use Wilton home baking tools to decorate stripes of icing.
—Annemarie Dooling, USA TODAY, 29 Feb. 2024
Strawberry Egg Doughnut – a mini Original Glazed® Doughnut dipped in strawberry icing with yellow and teal drizzles.
—Melissa Locker, Southern Living, 20 Mar. 2024
Also, still available at Krispy Kreme are the chain's limited-time Spring Minis Collection, which includes four new flavors of miniature doughnuts including a Mini Birds Nest Doughnut made with Cadbury Mini Eggs and a Robin's Egg Doughnut dipped in teal icing with daisy sprinkles.
—Mike Snider, USA TODAY, 30 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'ice.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near ice
Cite this Entry
“Ice.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ice. Accessed 10 May. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
ice
1 of 2 noun1
a
: frozen water
b
: a sheet of frozen water
skating on the ice
2
: a state of coldness (as in personal behavior)
3
: a substance resembling ice
4
: a frozen dessert usually made with sweetened fruit juice
ice
2 of 2 verb
iced; icing
1
a
: to coat or become coated with ice
b
: to chill with ice
2
: to cover with icing
Medical Definition
ice
noun1
: frozen water
2
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Merriam-Webster unabridged
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