ice floe

noun

: a usually large flat free mass of floating sea ice

Examples of ice floe in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web An ice floe is a floating sheet of ice that breaks away from a larger ice formation. Alex Sundby, CBS News, 22 Jan. 2024 Each year anglers in the upper Midwest are rescued from ice floes that get blown into open water by high winds. Drew Dawson, Journal Sentinel, 26 Feb. 2024 In 2020, 536 ice fisherman were rescued from an ice floe that broke away from the shore near Mordvinov Bay on Sakhalin, according to Russian state media RIA Novosti. Josh Pennington, CNN, 18 Feb. 2024 Thirty feet of open water separated the ice floe from the shore, according to the sheriff's press release. Riley Hoffman, ABC News, 29 Dec. 2023 Emergency services said a 50-meter ice floe broke off near the village of Starodubskoye in the Sea of Okhotsk between Russia and Japan, stranding more than 80 fisherman a kilometer offshore. Josh Pennington, CNN, 18 Feb. 2024 Authorities have rescued dozens of ice anglers from normally solid northern Minnesota lakes after ice floes broke off and carried them along. Steve Karnowski, Twin Cities, 8 Feb. 2024 Twenty people stranded on an ice floe on Lake Erie in Ohio are safe, the Coast Guard said Monday. Marlene Lenthang, NBC News, 22 Jan. 2024 More than 100 anglers were rescued Friday evening after they became stranded on an ice floe that detached from the main shoreline of Upper Red Lake. Forum News Service, Twin Cities, 1 Jan. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'ice floe.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1819, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of ice floe was in 1819

Dictionary Entries Near ice floe

Cite this Entry

“Ice floe.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ice%20floe. Accessed 25 Apr. 2024.

Kids Definition

ice floe

noun
: a flat free mass of floating sea ice
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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