ice

¹

[ahys]

noun

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.

verb (used with object)

iced, icing 

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)

iced, icing 

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.

ICE

²

[ahys]

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.

-ice

³

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

   notice.

Ice.

⁴

abbreviation

1. Iceland.

2. Icelandic.

ICE

¹

abbreviation

1. Institution of Civil Engineers

Ice.

²

abbreviation

1. Iceland(ic)

ice

³

/ 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

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

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.

Other Word Forms

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

Word History and Origins

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 ice²

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of ice¹

Old English īs; compare Old High German īs, Old Norse īss

Idioms and Phrases

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.

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

Example Sentences

Celine Chai, Gia Lee and Bryant Lin founded NinetyEight after graduating from Loyola Marymount University’s advertising program in May 2020, when the pandemic had just put most marketing hiring on ice.

Read more on Wall Street Journal

Froneri was created in 2016 through a joint venture that combined PAI’s R&R Ice Cream with Nestlé’s European ice-cream operations.

Read more on Wall Street Journal

In 2019, Nestlé struck a deal to sell its U.S. ice cream business—which housed the U.S. arm of Haagen-Dazs, as well as brands like Drumstick and Outshine—to Froneri for $4 billion.

Read more on Wall Street Journal

The investment in Froneri comes at a time when U.K. consumer-goods giant Unilever is nearing a spinoff of its ice-cream business, Magnum Ice Cream.

Read more on Wall Street Journal

New York Stock Exchange owner Intercontinental Exchange ICE -1.61%decrease; red down pointing triangle said it would invest up to $2 billion in Polymarket in a deal that values the popular crypto-based prediction market at roughly $8 billion, offering a big vote of confidence in the platform’s growth prospects.

Read more on Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• bling 
• bling-bling 
• diamond 
• diamonds www.thesaurus.com

When To Use

What else does ICE mean?

ICE stands for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, a federal agency of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.