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

The icicles that the Barton Family shared with us are much different. —Ray Petelin, CBS News, 28 Feb. 2026

People were seen wearing lighted icicle tiaras or fiery orange costume wigs. —Karie Angell Luc, Chicago Tribune, 24 Feb. 2026

With winter in full blow, blizzards, sub-zero temperatures, and icicles are always in the forecast. —Asia London Palomba, The Spruce, 20 Feb. 2026

Shouldered by sandstone cliffs, these caves in Bayfield, Wisconsin, form when water—and, notably, waves—that would normally flow through the sandstone freezes instead, birthing icicles, columns, and curtains. —Kristine Hansen, Travel + Leisure, 19 Feb. 2026

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