ice

noun, verb — 26 senses

ice

nounalso spelled ICE

UK, US /aɪs/ · [ʌɪs]

Etymology

From Middle English hyse, hyys, ice, ijs, is, yce, ys, yys, from Old English īs, from Proto-West Germanic *īs, from Proto-Germanic *īsą (“ice”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁eyH- (“ice, frost”). Cognates Cognate with North Frisian Iis, is (“ice”), Saterland Frisian Ies (“ice”), West Frisian iis (“ice”), Alemannic German Iis, isch, éisch (“ice”), Bavarian, Cimbrian, and Mòcheno ais (“ice”), Dutch ijs (“ice”), German Eis (“ice”), German Low German Ies (“ice”), Luxembourgish Äis (“ice”), Vilamovian ajs (“ice”), Yiddish אײַז (ayz, “ice”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, and Swedish is (“ice”), Elfdalian ais (“ice”), Faroese ísur (“ice”), Icelandic ís (“ice”); also Cornish yey (“ice”), yeyn (“cold”), Irish oighear (“ice”), Scottish Gaelic deigh, eigh, eighre (“ice”), Welsh iâ (“ice”), Lithuanian ýnis (“hoar frost”), Bulgarian and Russian и́ней (ínej, “hoar frost”), Czech jíní (“frost”), Macedonian and Serbo-Croatian и́ње (“hoar frost”), Ukrainian і́ній (ínij, “hoar frost, rime”), Ossetian их (ix, “ice”), Armenian եղյամ (eġyam, “frost, hoar frost, rime”), Persian یخ (yax, “ice”), Hittite 𒂊𒃷 (“ice”). Superseded non-native Middle English glace (“ice”), borrowed from Old French glace (“ice”).

15 senses
  1. 1Water in frozen (solid) form.
  2. 2Any frozen volatile chemical, such as ammonia or carbon dioxide.
  3. 3Any volatile chemical, such as water, ammonia, or carbon…
  4. 4Something having an extreme coldness of manner.
  5. 5Something, such as awkwardness, that prevents open…
  6. 6The area where a game of ice hockey is played.
  7. 7Icing; frosting ("a sweet, often creamy and thick glaze…
  8. 8A frozen dessert made of fruit juice, water and sugar.
  9. 9An ice cream.
  10. 10An individual piece of ice.
  11. 11Elephant or rhinoceros ivory that has been poached and…
  12. 12An artifact that has been smuggled, especially one that…
  13. 13Money paid as a bribe.
  14. 14The crystal form of amphetamine-based drugs, including…
  15. 15One or more diamonds.
1

Usually Water in frozen (solid) form.

  • If thou doſt marry, Ile giue thee / This plague to thy dowry: / Be thou as chaſte as yce, as pure as ſnowe, / Thou ſhalt not ſcape calumny, to a Nunnery goe.c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shake-speare, The Tragicall Historie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke: […] (First Quarto), London: […] [Valentine Simmes] for N[icholas] L[ing] and Iohn Trundell, published 1603, →OCLC, [Act III, scene i]:
  • 1882, Popular Science Monthly (volume 20), "The Freezing of a Salt Lake" It has always been difficult to explain how ice is formed on the surface of oceans while the temperature of maximum density is lower than that of cogelation, and the observations on this lake were instituted in the hope that they might throw light upon the subject.
1 more example
  • Of all the transitions brought about on the Earth’s surface by temperature change, the melting of ice into water is the starkest. It is binary. And for the land beneath, the air above and the life around, it changes everything.2013 May 11, “The climate of Tibet: Pole-land”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8835, page 80:
2

Astronomy, Natural sciences, Physical sciences, Physics Usually Any frozen volatile chemical, such as ammonia or carbon dioxide.

3

Astronomy, Natural sciences Usually Any volatile chemical, such as water, ammonia, or carbon dioxide, not necessarily in solid form, when discussing the composition of e.g. a planet as an ice giant vs a gas giant.

  • Above the core is the lower-density liquid mantle composed of ice materials under high pressure and temperature. This massive liquid layer would not be separated into layers of traditional ice compounds, but mixtures of radically different compounds originally consisting of water, carbon dioxide, methane, and ammonia […] Since the mass of the planet is dominated by the liquid mantle that itself consists of heated ices under pressure, both Uranus and Neptune are classified as giant ice planets.2010 March 15, Lance K. Erickson, Space Flight: History, Technology, and Operations, Government Institutes, →ISBN, page 145:
  • Uranus and Neptune are […] usually classified separately as ice giants because they contain a much higher proportion of ice-forming substances such as water, ammonia, and methane. […] In the case of Uranus, the ice mantle must make up between 9.3 and 13.4 Earth masses worth of the total mass of the planet, which is 14.5 Earth masses. Similar proportions apply to Neptune. The commonly used term "ice mantle" is someone misleading, since the substance is actually a hot, slushy mixture that would be more aptly described as a water–ammonia ocean.2010 December 2, Raymond T. Pierrehumbert, Principles of Planetary Climate, Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, page 20:
1 more example
  • Neptune has one major moon: Triton, which is comparable in size to the Jovian moon Europa and at an average density of 2.061 g/cm³ widely understood to be covered by several hundred km of frozen or liquid ice.2022, Geophysical Exploration of the Solar System, Elsevier, →ISBN, page 45:
4

Figuratively, Usually Something having an extreme coldness of manner.

  • a heart of ice
  • Her eyes flash with anger, her voice ice. "You afraid of the law? You haven't changed. I want you out of my house now."2023 January 27, Gay Degani, “Scablands”, in The Saturday Evening Post, Indianapolis, I.N.: Saturday Evening Post Society, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 29 Jan 2023:
5

Figuratively, Usually Something, such as awkwardness, that prevents open social interaction.

  • The dialogues—or "raps"—usually take place on a monthly or bi-monthly basis and aim at fostering contacts hand at breaking through stereotypical notions held by both sides. "There's no question that there's ice to begin with," said Lance Bradley, who conducts the raps for Chelsea's Tenth Precinct.1982 February 6, Bob Nelson, “'Rocky Relations' in New York Getting Smoother”, in Gay Community News, volume 9, number 28, page 3:
  • break the ice
6

Hobbies, Ice hockey, Lifestyle, Skating, Sports Usually The area where a game of ice hockey is played.

  • 2006, CBC, Finland, Sweden 'the dream final', February 26 2002, The neighbouring countries have enjoyed many great battles on the ice. They last met for gold at the 1998 world championship, won by Sweden. Three years earlier, Finland bested Sweden for the only world title in its history.
7

Dialectal, Usually Icing; frosting ("a sweet, often creamy and thick glaze made primarily of sugar").

  • Well weddings, they were just the usual ... my big brother was married in the Masonic and the Co-operative done the party. Steak pie and tatties, and all that sort of stuff. The wee square Albert cake with ice on it, fruit cake. Then the wee dance after that. There was no drinking at oor wedding!1990, Jean Faley, quoting John McKee, Up Oor Close: Memories of Domestic Life in Glasgow Tenements, 1910–1945, Wendlebury, Oxon: White Cockade, →ISBN, page 132:
8

Usually A frozen dessert made of fruit juice, water and sugar.

9

UK, Dated, Usually An ice cream.

10

Obsolete, Usually An individual piece of ice.

11

Slang, Usually Elephant or rhinoceros ivory that has been poached and sold on the black market.

12

Slang, Usually An artifact that has been smuggled, especially one that is either clear or shiny.

13

Slang, Usually Money paid as a bribe.

  • Theater operators, theater party agents, playwrights, and others who have ready access to tickets may get in on the “ice” and sometimes the producer is in on it too.1960, United States. Congress, Congressional Record:
  • This “ice” is bribe money paid to public officials to purchase protection for illegal activities. […] Just consider the “ice” money available to the men involved in the examples just cited.1970, Congressional Record: Proceedings and Debates:
14

Drugs, Medicine, Pharmacology, Sciences Slang, Usually The crystal form of amphetamine-based drugs, including methamphetamine.

  • Near-synonym: crystal meth
  • There were times when she could tell the Washingtons were overwhelmed by Jahlil's difficult ways, and one time Jessie even had the nerve to ask Carmiesha if she had smoked anything like crack or ice while she was pregnant with him.2006, Noire [pseudonym], Thug-A-Licious: An Urban Erotic Tale, New York, N.Y.: One World, Ballantine Books, →ISBN, page 122:
15

Slang, Usually One or more diamonds.

  • But you can't give cred to anything dude says / Same dude to give you ice and you owe him some head2002, “Blueprint²”, performed by Jay-Z:
  • Ice on the wrist with the ice in the chains.2005, “Stay Fly”, in Jordan Houston, Darnell Carlton, Paul Beauregard, Premro Smith, Marlon Goodwin, David Brown, Willie Hutchinson (lyrics), Most Known Unknown, performed by Three 6 Mafia (featuring Young Buck, 8 Ball, and MJG), Sony BMG:
2 more examples
  • [She had] eaten a dinner at better than a hundred dollars a bite and she had enough ice on her ring finger to sink the Titanic. Maybe she really didn't have any morals. But she had a chance. And she was taking it.2014 August 18, Sarah Ballance, The Marriage Agenda, Entangled: Indulgence, →ISBN:
  • As she raised her left hand to get the crust out of her eye, she was blinded by the ice on her ring finger. Two bands filled with diamonds sat under and on top of her five-carat princess-cut engagement ring. Instantly, memories of her wedding day flooded her mind.2014 September 1, Keisha Ervin, Reckless 2: Nobody's Girl, Urban Books, →ISBN:
Derived terms
282 termsanticer, anti-ice, anti-icer, artificial ice, break the ice, brinicle, cat ice, choc-ice, clear ice, cobblestone ice, cold as ice, cut ice, de-ice, deice, deicer, downhill ice cross, fast ice, field ice, fire ice, frazil ice, fruit ice, gletcher ice, ground ice, hair ice, have no fear of ice cold beer, home ice, hot ice, hummocky ice, ice age, ice-albedo feedback, ice alga, ice anchor, ice and water shield, iceane, ice apple, ice ax, ice axe, ice bag, ice ball, iceball, ice barrier, ice bath, ice bear, ice beer, icebelt, iceberg, icebird, iceblink, iceblock, ice blonde, ice blue, iceboard, iceboat, ice boat, iceboating, icebound, icebow, icebox, ice box, icebreaker, ice breaker, icebreaking, ice bridge, ice bucket, ice bucket challenge, ice burn, ice-calm, ice candle, ice candy, ice cap, icecap, ice carousel, ice castle, ice cave, ice chest, ice cider, ice circle, Ice City, ice climbing, ice coffee, ice-cold, icecold, ice cold, ice cool, ice core, ice-covered, icecraft, ice crawler, ice cream, icecrete, icecross, ice cross, ice cross downhill, ice crystal, ice cube, ice cube tray, ice cupboard, ice dam, ice-dammed, ice dam membrane, ice dance, ice dancing, ice delivery door, ice disc, ice disk, ice diving, ice door, ice dragon boat, ice dragon boating, icedrake, ice drop, icedrop, ice dune, ice dwarf, icefall, ice feather, ice fern, ice field, ice fish, icefish, ice fishing, ice-float, ice floe, icefloe, ice fog, ice foot, icefoot, ice fountain, ice fractal, ice-free, ice giant, ice giant planet, ice girl, ice-hearted, ice hockey, ice hole, ice house, icehouse, ice husband, ice ice water, ice IV, ice-jack, ice jam, ice kachang, icekhana, Iceland, iceless, icelight, icelike, ice lol, ice lolly, ice luge, ice machine, ice maiden, icemaker, icemaking, iceman, ice-marginal, icemelt, ice milk, ice minus, ice-minus, ice monkey, ice moon, ice needle, ice nucleus, ice-out, ice out, ice pack, ice-pail, ice palace, ice pancake, ice pellet, ice perry, ice pick, ice pillar, ice plant, ice plough, ice plow, ice point, ice pole, ice pop, iceproof, icequake, ice queen, icer, ice racing, ice resurfacer, ice resurfacing machine, ice-rich, ice rink, ice road, ice run, ice-safe, ice saints, ice-saw, icescape, ice scooter, ice scour, ice scramble, ice scraper, ice sheet, ice shelf, ice shove, ice show, ice skate, ice skating, ice sky, ice sled, ice sledge, ice spar, icestone, icestorm, ice storm, ice stupa, ice swimmer, ice swimming, ice tea, iceteroid, icesteroid, ice time, icetime, ice tongue, icetray, ice tray, ice tsunami, ice-volcanic, ice volcano, ice wagon, iceward, icewards, ice water, iceway, iceways, ice wedge, ice well, ice whale, ice wife, ice wine, icewoman, ice wool, icework, iceworks, ice worm, ice XVIII, ice yacht, ice yachting, icicle, icy, keep one's stick on the ice, keep someone on ice, lolly ice, Minnesota ice, mop up the ice, needle ice, nonice, off-ice, on ice, on thin ice, put someone on ice, sailing-ice, sea-ice, sea ice, sell ice to Eskimos, shatter the ice, shaved ice, shave ice, shelf ice, shell ice, skate on thin ice, slush ice, snice, snowdrift ice, stink on ice, stream ice, synthetic ice, time on ice, trash ice, water ice, water-ice, whelping ice, young ice
Hyponyms
28 termsanchor ice, arena ice, black ice, blue ice, brash ice, choc ice, dead ice, drift ice, dry ice, ice Ih, ice II, ice III, ice IX, ice VI, ice XII, ice XV, Italian ice, methane ice, negative ice, nitrogen ice, pack ice, pancake ice, polar ice, sea ice, slob ice, spin ice, stagnant ice, water ice

ice

verb
Etymology

From Middle English hyse, hyys, ice, ijs, is, yce, ys, yys, from Old English īs, from Proto-West Germanic *īs, from Proto-Germanic *īsą (“ice”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁eyH- (“ice, frost”). Cognates Cognate with North Frisian Iis, is (“ice”), Saterland Frisian Ies (“ice”), West Frisian iis (“ice”), Alemannic German Iis, isch, éisch (“ice”), Bavarian, Cimbrian, and Mòcheno ais (“ice”), Dutch ijs (“ice”), German Eis (“ice”), German Low German Ies (“ice”), Luxembourgish Äis (“ice”), Vilamovian ajs (“ice”), Yiddish אײַז (ayz, “ice”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, and Swedish is (“ice”), Elfdalian ais (“ice”), Faroese ísur (“ice”), Icelandic ís (“ice”); also Cornish yey (“ice”), yeyn (“cold”), Irish oighear (“ice”), Scottish Gaelic deigh, eigh, eighre (“ice”), Welsh iâ (“ice”), Lithuanian ýnis (“hoar frost”), Bulgarian and Russian и́ней (ínej, “hoar frost”), Czech jíní (“frost”), Macedonian and Serbo-Croatian и́ње (“hoar frost”), Ukrainian і́ній (ínij, “hoar frost, rime”), Ossetian их (ix, “ice”), Armenian եղյամ (eġyam, “frost, hoar frost, rime”), Persian یخ (yax, “ice”), Hittite 𒂊𒃷 (“ice”). Superseded non-native Middle English glace (“ice”), borrowed from Old French glace (“ice”).

8 senses
  1. 1To become ice; to freeze.
  2. 2To cool with ice, as an injured body part or a beverage.
  3. 3To make icy; to freeze.
  4. 4To cover with icing (frosting made of sugar and milk or…
  5. 5To put out a team for a match.
  6. 6To shoot the puck the length of the playing surface…
  7. 7To murder.
  8. 8To defeat decisively.
1

To become ice; to freeze.

2

To cool with ice, as an injured body part or a beverage.

  • To treat runner's knee, you need to rest from running or any other high-impact activity, ice the knee, and strengthen the quadriceps through weight training.2008, Deirdre Pitney, Donna Dourney, Triathlon Training For Dummies, page 240:
3

To make icy; to freeze.

  • The bridge ices before the road.
4

To cover with icing (frosting made of sugar and milk or white of egg); to frost; as cakes, tarts, etc.

5

Hobbies, Ice hockey, Lifestyle, Skating, Sports To put out a team for a match.

  • Milton Keynes have yet to ice a team this season
6

Hobbies, Ice hockey, Lifestyle, Skating, Sports To shoot the puck the length of the playing surface, causing a stoppage in play called icing.

  • If the Bruins ice the puck, the faceoff will be in their own zone.
7

Slang To murder.

  • Not long afterwards Wolf rings him up. 'I want you to ice someone for £15,000, he says. "No one you know."2011, Gavin Knight, Hood Rat, London: Picador, →ISBN, page 158:
8

Slang To defeat decisively.

  • Despite his vulnerabilities, Clinton managed to ice Dole in his 1996 reelection campaign for President.
Derived terms
ice down, ice over, ice up, re-ice

ICE

verb

/aɪs/ · /aɪ siː iː/

1

Automotive, Transport, Vehicles Slang To occupy a reserved electric car parking space (especially one equipped with a charger) with a traditional car equipped with an internal combustion engine.

  • “We do get charge rage if someone ICEs your bay. And people don’t like it if someone parks a Tesla to charge for two hours. When your car has finished charging, our message is: move it.” ICE-ing is EV owner-speak for when an internal combustion engine (ICE) car blocks or parks in a charging point space. On EV internet forums, stories of drivers being ICEd abound.2017 May 18, James Foxall, “Electric car drivers face queues and quarrels”, in The Daily Telegraph, archived from the original on 02 Aug 2025:
  • Clearer signs for electric vehicle charge points are needed to prevent drivers of petrol and diesel cars blocking access, the government has been told. […] It was claimed that the blocking of charge points by internal combustion engine cars — known as spaces being “iced” out — was a serious problem.2020 April 29, Graeme Paton, “Too many electric car charging spaces being blocked”, in The Times, archived from the original on 04 Oct 2021:
2

Neologism, Slang, Uncommon To apprehend or deport by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

3

Neologism, Slang, Uncommon To kill (in reference to and hypothetically by Immigration and Customs Enforcement).

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — authors: page histories for ice and ICE.

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