Word.ws English Dictionary

ice

[ʌɪs]/aɪs/

ice noun: water in frozen (solid) form.

ice: water in frozen (solid) form
Image: DrAlzheimer, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Noun (1)

ice (usually uncountable, plural ices)

  1. (usually) Water in frozen (solid) form.
    • He said, “Where we’re at right now was back in 2008 all covered with ice. From here to there at the side, the glacier shrank about 20 to 30 meters.”
    • 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...
  2. (usually) Any frozen volatile chemical, such as ammonia or carbon dioxide.
  3. (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...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...2010 December 2, Raymond T. Pierrehumbert, Principles of Planetary Climate, Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, page 20
  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. (usually) The area where a game of ice hockey is played.
    • 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.2006, CBC, Finland, Sweden 'the dream final', February 26 2002
  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. (UK, dated, usually) Ice cream.
    • They exude a naive zest: coatings of detail, poured like thick chocolate sauce over a mingy scoop of vanilla ice, distract attention, criticism, distrust.1973 June 9, Peter Preston, “Frederick Forsyth interview: ‘I’ve always been a loner’ – archive, 1973”, in The Guardian, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 10...
    • The peach melba, probably the most famous sundae of all, is a sound marriage of poached peaches, vanilla ice and raspberry sauce.2008 August 2, Nigel Slater, “Sundae best”, in The Observer, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 16 Sep 2015
  9. (countable, uncountable, usually) A frozen dessert made of fruit juice, water and sugar.
  10. (UK, countable, dated, uncountable, usually) An ice cream.
  11. (countable, obsolete, uncountable, usually) An individual piece of ice.
  12. (slang, usually, crime) Elephant or rhinoceros ivory that has been poached and sold on the black market.
Show 4 more meaningsShow fewer meanings
  1. (slang, usually, crime) An artifact that has been smuggled, especially one that is either clear or shiny.
  2. (slang, usually, crime) 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
  3. (slang, usually, crime) 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
    Synonyms:
    crystal meth
  4. (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...

Verb (1)

ice (third-person singular simple present ices, present participle icing, simple past and past participle iced)

  1. (intransitive) To become ice; to freeze.
  2. (transitive) 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. (transitive) To make icy; to freeze.
    • The bridge ices before the road.
  4. (transitive) To cover with icing (frosting made of sugar and milk or white of egg); to frost; as cakes, tarts, etc.
  5. (transitive) To put out a team for a match.
    • Milton Keynes have yet to ice a team this season
  6. (transitive) 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, transitive) 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, transitive) To defeat decisively.
    • Despite his vulnerabilities, Clinton managed to ice Dole in his 1996 reelection campaign for President.

Proper noun (1) capitalized: ICE

ICE

  1. (abbreviation) Abbreviation of Iceland.
  2. (abbreviation, initialism) Initialism of Institution of Civil Engineers.
  3. (abbreviation, initialism) Initialism of International Cultural Exchange.
  4. (US, abbreviation, acronym) Acronym of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“law-enforcement agency responsible for immigration and customs matters of the United States Federal government”).
    • Mr. Schlossberg’s rant angered activists for immigrant rights, who said it reinforced stereotypes that Spanish speakers are not citizens. And they worried that it perpetuated fear within immigrant communities of ICE’s aggressive tactics to deport those who are undocumented.2018 May 22, Liz Robbins, Maya Salam, “‘I Am Not Racist’: Lawyer Issues Apology One Week After Rant”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from...
    • ICE agents were joined Sunday by officials from multiple Justice Department agencies as they targeted what they said are public safety and national security threats.2025 January 26, Priscilla Alvarez and Rosa Flores, “Trump administration launches nationwide immigration enforcement blitz”, in CNN, archived from the original on 27 Jan 2025
  5. (abbreviation, initialism) Initialism of Intercity-Express (“German high speed train”).

Noun (2) capitalized: ICE

ICE (countable and uncountable, plural ICEs)

  1. (abbreviation, acronym) Acronym of internal combustion engine.
    • “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. But rather than scuffles breaking out, if stories are to be believed, British EV drivers resort to leaving notes and...2017 May 18, James Foxall, “Electric car drivers face queues and quarrels”, in The Daily Telegraph, archived from the original on 02 Aug 2025
    • “The ICE tail is now fatter and longer than anybody ever thought it was going to be,” GM's chief financial officer Paul Jacobson said at a recent conference, even as the company continued to invest in new EVs. […] Ford last year posted a $5bn operative loss on its EV business but made $5.3bn from...2025 October 11, Paul Jacobson, quotee, “Carmakers steer back towards more lucrative petrol vehicles”, in FT Weekend (Companies & Markets section), London: The Financial Times Ltd., →ISSN, →OCLC...
  2. (abbreviation, initialism) Initialism of internal compiler error.
  3. (abbreviation, initialism) Initialism of in-circuit emulator/emulation.
  4. (abbreviation, initialism) Initialism of in-car entertainment.
    Synonyms:
    IVI
  5. (abbreviation, acronym, mnemonic) Acronym of ice, compress, elevation (first-aid).
  6. (abbreviation, initialism) Initialism of intercontinental exchange.
    • But ICE says futures trading in a variety of carbon-linked financial instruments -- where the bulk of trading activity occurs -- would continue apace. That includes trading in futures and options contracts for EUAs and the carbon offsets credits issued by U.N. organizations, the Certified Emission...2011 January 20, Nathanial Gronewold and John J. Fialka, “European Commission Halts Transfers of Carbon Emissions Allowances Until Thefts Are Sorted Out”, in The New York Times, archived from the...
  7. (abbreviation, acronym) Acronym of iridocorneal endothelial syndrome.

Phrase capitalized: ICE

ICE

  1. (abbreviation, initialism) Initialism of in case of emergency, used in mobile phones followed by the number to call if the phone’s owner is injured.

Verb (2) capitalized: ICE

ICE (third-person singular simple present ICEs, present participle ICEing, simple past and past participle ICEd)

  1. (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...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, transitive, uncommon) To apprehend or deport by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
  3. (neologism, slang, transitive, uncommon) To kill (in reference to and hypothetically by Immigration and Customs Enforcement).

Adjective capitalized: ICE

ICE (comparative more ICE, superlative most ICE)

  1. (abbreviation, initialism) Initialism of isolated, confined, extreme.
    • Antarctica, like outer-space, is known as an ICE environment – isolated, confined and extreme – meaning unlike other isolated communities, the rate of change for its vocabulary can be slower.2024 June 20, Eva Corlett, “Fidlets, fingies and riding a doo: study sheds light on Antarctic English slang”, in The Guardian, archived from the original on 09 Aug 2024

Proper noun (2) capitalized: Ice

Ice (countable and uncountable, plural Ices)

  1. A surname.
  2. Alternative letter-case form of ICE.
    • David Huerta, president of SEIU California and SEIU-USWW, was serving as a community observer during an Ice raid in Los Angeles, and was arrested by federal agents over allegations of interfering.2025 June 9, Michael Sainato and Chris Stein, “Labor unions around US demand release of union leader arrested in LA protest”, in The Guardian
  3. (US, often, with-definite-article, Antarctica) Antarctica.
    • Over three weeks in 2019, Kaefer spent time at three English-speaking Antarctic stations observing and gathering data from workers based on what the US station refers to as “The Ice”, or the British call the “South”.2024 June 20, Eva Corlett, “Fidlets, fingies and riding a doo: study sheds light on Antarctic English slang”, in The Guardian

ice meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu

ice in Hindi

water in frozen form
हिम him, बर्फ़ barf

ice in Tamil

water in frozen form
பனி paṉi, பனிக்கட்டி paṉikkaṭṭi

ice in Marathi

water in frozen form
बर्फ barpha

ice in Urdu

water in frozen form
بَرْف barf, یَخ yax, جَلِید jalīd
More languagesFewer languages
ice in Bengali
বরফ boroph
ice in Telugu
మంచు mañcu
ice in Malayalam
ഐസ് aisŭ
ice in Kannada
ಮಂಜುಗಡ್ಡೆ mañjugaḍḍe, ನೀರ್ಗಲ್ಲು nīrgallu, ಹಿಮಗಡ್ಡೆ himagaḍḍe
ice in Punjabi
ਬਰਫ਼ baraf
ice in Gujarati
બરફ baraph
ice in Odia
ବରଫ barapha
ice in Sinhala
අයිස් ayis
ice in Assamese
বৰফ boroph
ice in Nepali
बरफ baraph
ice in Pashto
کنګل kangal
ice in Tagalog
yelo
ice in Arabic
جَلِيد jalīd, ثَلْج ṯalj
ice in Malay
air batu, ais, es
ice in Indonesian
es, air beku, es kering, air beku kering
ice in Thai
น้ำแข็ง nám-kɛ̌ng
ice in Vietnamese
băng, đá
ice in Myanmar
ရေခဲ rehkai:

Examples of ice in a sentence

  • Of all the transitions brought about on the Earth’s surface by temperature change, the melting of ice into water is the starkest.2013 May 11, “The climate of Tibet: Pole-land”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8835, page 80:
  • Above the core is the lower-density liquid mantle composed of ice materials under high pressure and temperature.2010 March 15, Lance K. Erickson, Space Flight: History, Technology, and Operations, Government Institutes, →ISBN, page 145:
  • 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:
  • [I]n my book, all ice-cream is good ice-cream, but there’s something particularly joyful about a pink quiff of strawberry ice: British summer in a sticky, dripping cone.2023 August 23, Felicity Cloake, “How to make the perfect strawberry ice-cream – recipe”, in Katharine Viner, editor, The Guardian, London...

All 40 example sentences with ice

Synonyms of ice

Forms of ice

Noun
pluralices
pluralICEs
alternative form (obsolete)yce
Verb
third-person singular presentices
present participleicing
past participleiced
pasticed
third-person singular presentICEs
present participleICEing
past participleICEd
pastICEd
Adjective
comparativemore ICE
superlativemost ICE
Proper noun
pluralIces

Past tense of ice: iced

Plural of ice: ices

Origin of ice

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...

Words formed from ice

Phrases with ice

159 more phrasesFewer phrases

Words that rhyme with ice

31 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about ice

What does ice mean?
Ice means water in frozen (solid) form.
What is ice in Hindi?
Ice in Hindi is हिम (him), बर्फ़ (barf). See Ice meaning in Hindi.
How do you use ice in a sentence?
Of all the transitions brought about on the Earth’s surface by temperature change, the melting of ice into water is the starkest.
What part of speech is ice?
Ice can be a noun, a verb, a proper noun or a phrase.
How do you pronounce ice?
Ice is pronounced /aɪs/ (UK).
What is the plural of ice?
The plural of ice is ices.

Words near ice in the dictionary

  1. ICD-8a
  2. ICD-9
  3. ICDL
  4. ICDLs
  5. ICDs
  6. ice
  7. ice age
  8. ice ages
  9. ice alga
  10. ice algae
  11. ice anchor

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: ice (page history and authors); ICE (page history and authors); Ice (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-ice.ogg, LL-Q1860 (eng)-Back ache-ice.wav, En-au-ICE.ogg.

Cite this entry: “ice.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/ice. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.