icicle

noun

ici·​cle ˈī-ˌsi-kəl 

1

: a pendent mass of ice formed by the freezing of dripping water

2

: an emotionally cold person

3

: a long narrow strip (as of foil) used to decorate a Christmas tree

Did you know?

Old English gicel, meaning icicle, became Middle English ikyl or ikel and later modern English ickle, which survives as a dialect word in Yorkshire, England. The word for ice in Old English is is, and in a manuscript of about the year 1000 we find Latin stiria, “icicle,” glossed, somewhat redundantly, as ises gicel, that is, “an icicle of ice.” Some 300 years later, in Middle English, this became the compound known today as icicle, which means precisely what it did 1000 years ago.

Synonyms of icicle

• clam
• iceberg
• stick
• cold turkey

Examples of icicle in a Sentence

his wife is such an icicle you're lucky to get so much as a greeting from her

Recent Examples on the Web

There will also be up to 10,000 icicles placed around the structure. —Wcco Staff, CBS News, 1 Dec. 2025

Christmas Bubble String Lights From the ‘40s to the ‘70s, bubble string lights were commonly used as lighting on Christmas trees before mini and icicle lights became more popular. —Alicia Geigel, Southern Living, 30 Nov. 2025

The coat has kept me warm through winter getaways to Vermont, where my hair would turn to icicles, and on treks to class in college during below-freezing weather. —Melony Forcier, Travel + Leisure, 28 Nov. 2025

Hiking through the frozen Maligne Canyon beneath towering icicles and glowing blue ice walls will do. —Crai S Bower, Outside, 24 Nov. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English isikel, from is ice + ikel icicle, from Old English gicel; akin to Old High German ihilla icicle, Middle Irish aig ice

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for icicle

• bicycle

Kids Definition

icicle

noun

ici·​cle ˈī-ˌsik-əl 

: a hanging mass of ice formed by the freezing of dripping water