sleet

play

noun \ ˈslēt \

Definition of sleet

:frozen or partly frozen rain

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sleety

play \ˈslē-tē\ adjective

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Examples of sleet in a Sentence

The snow turned to sleet and made driving very dangerous.

Recent Examples of sleet from the Web

The region's long winters and fierce conditions — high winds, extreme cold, rain, sleet, snow, bears and bugs, to name a few — have helped keep Denali's trove of plant fossils and dinosaur tracks secret for decades.

— kate siber, Alaska Dispatch News, "When dinosaurs ruled Alaska," 19 Aug. 2017
The statistics factor in rain and liquid equivalent of snow and sleet.

— meg jones, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Wisconsin records wettest year on record through July," 8 Aug. 2017
Our faces were stung by high winds and horizontal sleet.

— woody connette, charlotteobserver, "50 states, 49 years and 308,486+ feet: This Charlotte man has been to the top of every state. Here’s what he learned.," 14 July 2017
Snow, sleet and rain falling in different parts of metro area and heavy snow in mountains May 18, 2017.

— rj sangosti, The Denver Post, "PHOTOS: Spring snow in the Denver Metro Area, on May 18 2017," 18 May 2017
Winter storm Stella is generating less snow than expected in New York City and Washington, D.C. today but an icy mix including sleet and freezing rain is still creating treacherous conditions.

— james freeman, WSJ, "Trump vs. The Blizzard," 14 Mar. 2017
As the morning wore on, the storm track shifted slightly and snow switched to sleet in Philadelphia and New York.

— deepti hajela, Twin Cities, "Storm clobbers the Northeast; more than 5,000 flights grounded," 14 Mar. 2017
The moisture being pulled from the ocean condenses into snow, sleet and rain, which, when combined with the wind from the swirling air mass creates a blizzard or intense storm.

— jason daley, Smithsonian, "Is Winter Storm Stella a “Weather Bomb”?," 14 Mar. 2017
NEW YORK – A blustery late-season storm plastered the Northeast with sleet and snow Tuesday, paralyzing much of the Washington-to-Boston corridor after a stretch of unusually mild winter weather that had people thinking spring was already here.

— deepti hajela, Orange County Register, "Snowstorm clobbers the Northeast after weeks of mild weather," 14 Mar. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'sleet.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.