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 WebMichelle Darrisaw, Southern Living, 11 Apr. 2024
Here’s what really caused Tuesday morning’s sky show April 2, 2024
The satellite Falcon 9 carried is designed to monitor weather and environmental conditions such as sea ice, snow depth, soil moisture and wind.
—Jack Dolan, Los Angeles Times, 11 Apr. 2024
The windblown ice tends to look blue compared with the surrounding surface snow.
—Katie Hunt, CNN, 10 Apr. 2024
Some guys have been known to even touch the typo for good luck on their way out to the ice.
—Sean Keeler, The Denver Post, 10 Apr. 2024
Friday Disney On Ice presents Mickey’s Search Party: Disney characters such as Tinker Bell, Captain Hook, Elsa, Miguel and Buzz Lightyear will take to the ice for a magic quest with Mickey Mouse.
—The San Diego Union-Tribune Staff, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 Apr. 2024
Don’t be deterred by the long line; the pros scooping the soft, slushy ices are lightning-fast.
—Regan Stephens, Peoplemag, 8 Apr. 2024
Strain off the ice into a chilled coupe or flute, and top, gently, with sparkling wine.
—Jason O'Bryan, Robb Report, 6 Apr. 2024
This was geek heaven for Asher, who got to speak with specialists in planetary defense (news flash: no known asteroids are on track to hit Earth) and space resources (evidently ice on the moon’s polar caps is stirring up a lot of interest).
—Leslie Camhi, Travel + Leisure, 30 Mar. 2024
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
Under a partnership announced Tuesday, Krispy Kreme will deliver three versions of its donuts — glazed, chocolate iced with sprinkles and chocolate iced with a cream filling — to McDonald's locations each morning.
—Khristopher J. Brooks, CBS News, 26 Mar. 2024
And before Manny Machado iced the game with a three-run homer off the scoreboard in the ninth, Ohtani made his last trip to the plate with the potential tying run in scoring position.
—Jack Harris, Los Angeles Times, 21 Mar. 2024
Ava Ranson hit a pair of free throws with 5 seconds left to ice the game for CSUSM (25-6), which on Monday at 7 p.m. will play No. 4 Montana State Billings, a 66-56 winner over No. 1 Azusa Pacific in Saturday’s late game.
—Union-Tribune, San Diego Union-Tribune, 17 Mar. 2024
In recent years, the wholesaler has made multiple efforts to ice out freeloaders who try to mooch off friends’ memberships.
—Angela L. Pagán / The Takeout, Quartz, 19 Mar. 2024
On Thursday, the Prince of Wales, 41, opened the new youth zone WEST in Hammersmith, west London, and self-deprecatingly knocked his creative skills while icing a cookie in a community kitchen.
—Janine Henni, Peoplemag, 15 Mar. 2024
The museum's latest board report includes details on maintenance issues, such as foundation damage, icing on interior windows, and a corroded floor drain which led to leaking that damaged a painting stored in basement collection space.
—Tom Daykin, Journal Sentinel, 12 Mar. 2024
Noun
Serve over ice and fresh fruit in those punch glasses that have been hanging around since the '60s.
—Michelle Darrisaw, Southern Living, 11 Apr. 2024
Here’s what really caused Tuesday morning’s sky show April 2, 2024
The satellite Falcon 9 carried is designed to monitor weather and environmental conditions such as sea ice, snow depth, soil moisture and wind.
—Jack Dolan, Los Angeles Times, 11 Apr. 2024
The windblown ice tends to look blue compared with the surrounding surface snow.
—Katie Hunt, CNN, 10 Apr. 2024
Some guys have been known to even touch the typo for good luck on their way out to the ice.
—Sean Keeler, The Denver Post, 10 Apr. 2024
Friday Disney On Ice presents Mickey’s Search Party: Disney characters such as Tinker Bell, Captain Hook, Elsa, Miguel and Buzz Lightyear will take to the ice for a magic quest with Mickey Mouse.
—The San Diego Union-Tribune Staff, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 Apr. 2024
Don’t be deterred by the long line; the pros scooping the soft, slushy ices are lightning-fast.
—Regan Stephens, Peoplemag, 8 Apr. 2024
Strain off the ice into a chilled coupe or flute, and top, gently, with sparkling wine.
—Jason O'Bryan, Robb Report, 6 Apr. 2024
This was geek heaven for Asher, who got to speak with specialists in planetary defense (news flash: no known asteroids are on track to hit Earth) and space resources (evidently ice on the moon’s polar caps is stirring up a lot of interest).
—Leslie Camhi, Travel + Leisure, 30 Mar. 2024
Verb
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
Under a partnership announced Tuesday, Krispy Kreme will deliver three versions of its donuts — glazed, chocolate iced with sprinkles and chocolate iced with a cream filling — to McDonald's locations each morning.
—Khristopher J. Brooks, CBS News, 26 Mar. 2024
And before Manny Machado iced the game with a three-run homer off the scoreboard in the ninth, Ohtani made his last trip to the plate with the potential tying run in scoring position.
—Jack Harris, Los Angeles Times, 21 Mar. 2024
Ava Ranson hit a pair of free throws with 5 seconds left to ice the game for CSUSM (25-6), which on Monday at 7 p.m. will play No. 4 Montana State Billings, a 66-56 winner over No. 1 Azusa Pacific in Saturday’s late game.
—Union-Tribune, San Diego Union-Tribune, 17 Mar. 2024
In recent years, the wholesaler has made multiple efforts to ice out freeloaders who try to mooch off friends’ memberships.
—Angela L. Pagán / The Takeout, Quartz, 19 Mar. 2024
On Thursday, the Prince of Wales, 41, opened the new youth zone WEST in Hammersmith, west London, and self-deprecatingly knocked his creative skills while icing a cookie in a community kitchen.
—Janine Henni, Peoplemag, 15 Mar. 2024
The museum's latest board report includes details on maintenance issues, such as foundation damage, icing on interior windows, and a corroded floor drain which led to leaking that damaged a painting stored in basement collection space.
—Tom Daykin, Journal Sentinel, 12 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 18 Apr. 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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