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• ice
  ice

  noun

  the solid form of water, produced by freezing; frozen water.
• ICE
  ICE

  noun

  Immigration and Customs Enforcement: a federal agency tasked with interior enforcement of U.S. customs and immigration laws, including cross-border investigations of criminal activity, and the arrest, detention, and removal of undocumented aliens.
• -ice
  -ice

  a suffix of nouns, indicating state or quality, appearing in loanwords from French.
• Ice.
  Ice.

  abbreviation

  Iceland.

ice

¹ American  

[ahys] / aɪs /

noun

• ice
  plural

1. the solid form of water, produced by freezing; frozen water.

2. the frozen surface of a body of water.

3. any substance resembling frozen water.

   camphor ice.

4. a frozen dessert made of sweetened water and fruit juice.

5. British. ice cream.

6. icing, as on a cake.

7. reserve; formality.

   The ice of his manner betrayed his dislike of the new ambassador.

8. Slang.

   1. a diamond or diamonds.

   2. protection money paid to the police by the operator of an illicit business.

   3. a fee that a ticket broker pays to a theater manager in order to receive a favorable allotment of tickets.

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verb (used with object)

• ices,
  present (3rd person singular)
• iced,
  past participle,  past
• icing
  present participle

1. to cover with ice.

2. to change into ice; freeze.

3. to cool with ice, as a drink.

4. to cover (cake, sweet rolls, etc.) with icing; frost.

5. to refrigerate with ice, as air.

6. to make cold, as if with ice.

7. to preserve by placing on ice.

8. Ice Hockey. (especially in Canada) to put (a team) into formal play.

9. Slang.

   1. to settle or seal; make sure of, as by signing a contract.

      We'll ice the deal tomorrow.

   2. to make (a business arrangement) more attractive by adding features or benefits.

      The star pitcher wouldn't sign his new contract until the team iced it with a big bonus.

   3. to kill, especially to murder.

      The mobsters threatened to ice him if he went to the police.

10. Sports Slang. to establish a winning score or insurmountable lead in or otherwise assure victory in (a game or contest).

    Her second goal iced the game.

verb (used without object)

• ices,
  present (3rd person singular)
• iced,
  past participle,  past
• icing
  present participle

1. to change to ice; freeze.

   The sherbet is icing in the refrigerator.

2. to be coated with ice (often followed byup ).

   The windshield has iced up.

adjective

1. of or made of ice.

   ice shavings;

   an ice sculpture.

2. for holding ice and food or drink to be chilled.

   an ice bucket;

   an ice chest.

3. on or done on the ice.

   ice yachting.

idioms

1. ice it, stop it; that's enough.

   You've been complaining all day, so ice it.

2. break the ice,

   1. to succeed initially; make a beginning.

   2. to overcome reserve, awkwardness, or formality within a group, as in introducing persons.

      The chairman broke the ice with his warm and very amusing remarks.

3. ice the puck, to hit the puck to the far end of the rink, especially from the defensive area across the offensive area.

4. on thin ice, in a precarious or delicate situation: Also skating on thin ice.

   You may pass the course, but you're on thin ice right now.

5. on ice,

   1. with a good chance of success or realization.

      Now that the contract is on ice we can begin operating again.

   2. out of activity, as in confinement or imprisonment.

   3. in a state of abeyance or readiness.

      Let's put that topic on ice for the moment.

6. cut no ice, to have no influence or importance; fail to impress.

   Her father's position cuts no ice with me.

ICE ² American  

[ahys] / aɪs /

noun

1. Immigration and Customs Enforcement: a federal agency tasked with interior enforcement of U.S. customs and immigration laws, including cross-border investigations of criminal activity, and the arrest, detention, and removal of undocumented aliens.

2. in case of emergency: (usually designating an emergency-contact phone number in one's cell phone contact list).

   The paramedic found my mom's ICE number immediately.

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-ice ³ American  

1. a suffix of nouns, indicating state or quality, appearing in loanwords from French.

   notice.

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Ice. ⁴ American  

abbreviation

1. Iceland.

2. Icelandic.

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ICE ¹ British  

abbreviation

1. Institution of Civil Engineers

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ice ² British  

/ aɪs /

noun

1. water in the solid state, formed by freezing liquid water

2. a portion of ice cream

3. slang a diamond or diamonds

4. the field of play in ice hockey

5. slang a concentrated and highly potent form of methamphetamine with dangerous side effects

6. 1. to relieve shyness, etc, esp between strangers

   2. to be the first of a group to do something

7. informal to fail to make an impression

8. in abeyance; pending

9. unsafe or unsafely; vulnerable or vulnerably

10. informal Antarctica

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verb

1. to form or cause to form ice; freeze

2. (tr) to mix with ice or chill (a drink, etc)

3. (tr) to cover (a cake, etc) with icing

4. slang (tr) to kill

5. 1. to shoot the puck from one end of the rink to the other

   2. to select which players will play in a game

Ice. ³ British  

abbreviation

1. Iceland(ic)

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ice Scientific  

/ īs /

1. A solid consisting of frozen water. Ice forms at or below a temperature of 0°C (32°F). Ice expands during the process of freezing, with the result that its density is lower than that of water.

2. A solid form of a substance, especially of a substance that is a liquid or a gas at room temperature at sea level on Earth. The nuclei of many comets contain methane ice.

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ice More Idioms  

1. see break the ice; cut no ice; on ice; on thin ice; put on ice; tip of the iceberg.

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Usage

What else does ICE mean? ICE stands for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, a federal agency of the U. S. Department of Homeland Security.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• reice
  verb
• unice
  verb (used with object)
• iceless
  adjective
• icelike
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• ice
  plural

Participles

• icing
  present
• iced
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• ice
  simple
• ices
  simple
• have iced
  perfect
• has iced
  perfect
• am icing
  progressive
• are icing
  progressive
• is icing
  progressive
• have been icing
  perfect progressive
• has been icing
  perfect progressive

Past

• iced
  simple
• had iced
  perfect
• was icing
  progressive
• were icing
  progressive
• had been icing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will ice
  simple
• will have iced
  perfect
• will be icing
  progressive
• will have been icing
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of ice¹

First recorded before 900; 1905–10 ice for def. 8a; Middle English, Old English īs; cognate with German Eis, Old Norse īss

Origin of -ice³

Middle English -ice, -ise < Old French < Latin -itius, -itia, -itium abstract noun suffix

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Explanation

Ice is water that's gotten cold enough to freeze solid. When the pond in your neighborhood is solid ice in January, it's safe to skate on. Ice takes many forms; you might slip on the ice, scrape sheets of ice off your car windows, or drop ice into your drink. In every case, the ice is frozen water, and when it freezes, it ices, the way roads ice over on winter nights. When you sprain your wrist, you should probably ice it, or hold ice on the injured area. You can also ice — or frost — a cupcake, or eat a sweet, cold fruit-flavored ice.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

ice ICE -ice Ice. ices iced icing

Indonesia said Saturday it had been using dry ice at one of South Sumatra province's main airports in an attempt to disperse the haze.

From Barron's ● Oct. 17, 2026

The country's national disaster mitigation agency said that 2.4 tonnes of dry ice were dispersed by plane.

From Barron's ● Oct. 17, 2026

In 2025, researchers began incorporating observations from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's GCOM-W satellite, helping maintain the decades-long record used to understand Antarctica's changing ice.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 16, 2026

However, because Antarctic ice coverage naturally fluctuates considerably from year to year, researchers remain uncertain whether this gradual increase reflected a meaningful long-term change.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 16, 2026

Even if the ice river didn’t feel that, it must have heard it.

From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver

The DHS spokesperson declined to discuss reports of increased ICE activity in California.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026

ICE uses private parking facilities across the city as staging grounds for its operation, including two bank parking lots on Northern Boulevard in Queens and a garage in Manhattan’s Little Italy, the lawmakers said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026

In its notice, the ICE adds that June 2027 will be the first month that it will offer a physically delivered live cattle contract.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026

And a third client chose to plead guilty in his criminal case rather than go to jury trial, despite Barraza’s advice that the case was worth fighting, for fear of being arrested by ICE.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 15, 2026

I know about ICE, and I know they can’t take citizens like me and Mom away, so you won’t scare me.

From "Unusual Chickens for the Exceptional Poultry Farmer" by Kelly Jones

Mixed doubles curling continues and we add another two sports into the mix -ice hockey and moguls skiing.

From BBC ● Feb. 1, 2022

“Welcome to Ice. … Your duty location is New York, New York. Your EOD was on Tuesday, September 30th, 2025.”

From Slate ● Jan. 13, 2026

I’m like, ‘Well, you’re not my enemy. There’s another Ice. You don’t want to meet him.’

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 22, 2024

“They demo’d it to Ice. The FBI is testing it.”

From The Guardian ● Jan. 31, 2019

As she celebrated on the court, she pointed to the vein in the crook of her shooting arm and said “Ice. Ice. Ice.”

From Washington Times ● Apr. 2, 2018

But Getheren went on, and after two days’ journey came to the Pering Ice.**

From "The Left Hand of Darkness" by Ursula K. Le Guin

What ices it is that Quraishi offered to postpone this hearing given Judge Brann’s ruling that the office is operating illegally.

From Slate ● Mar. 20, 2026

As polar ices melt in the coming years, new shipping routes are expected to open up.

From BBC ● Jan. 5, 2026

"It's all thanks to JWST's exceptional sensitivity combined with high angular resolution that we're able to detect these faint spectral features associated with ices around such a distant protostar," Sewilo said.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 12, 2025

Once formed, these ices can later release their molecules back into the gas.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 12, 2025

Sometimes she writes responses for them: And do you remember when we ate pistachios, when we ate those lemon ices shaped like flowers?

From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr

Mandel is batting a fly away near her iced coffee when I point out that she and I met at a party in Silver Lake, just a short jaunt from where we’re sitting.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 12, 2026

He held an Arizona iced tea in one hand and his Rottweiler mix Lady in the other.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026

In Baghdad, young professionals sipped iced coffee and typed on laptops in the exclusive Karrada neighborhood on a recent, seemingly peaceful day.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 30, 2026

Watch: Is it OK to take an iced coffee to a job interview?

From BBC ● Sep. 25, 2026

“I’ll have a large iced latte with almond milk and an extra shot,” the woman says.

From "A High Five for Glenn Burke" by Phil Bildner

The researchers compare this arrangement to chocolate chips embedded in a cookie, while organic dye molecules covering the outside resemble icing.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 20, 2026

Getting the color and appearance right for the icing on cupcakes alone required a nearly thirtyfold increase in natural ingredients.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 16, 2026

It might also mean a thick slice of homemade apple Bundt cake under a generous coat of cream cheese icing, eaten with coffee.

From Salon ● Aug. 31, 2026

Any enrichment and information is icing on the cake.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 23, 2026

Its brown icing was as full of holes as the binding of a book when bookworms have been gnawing at it for years.

From "Inkheart" by Cornelia Funke

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