drift ice

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noun

detached floating ice in masses that drift with the wind or ocean currents, as in the polar seas.

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His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

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Origin of drift ice

First recorded in 1590–1600

Words nearby drift ice

drift anchor, drift angle, driftbolt, drifter, driftfish, drift ice, drift indicator, drift lead, driftless area, drift mine, drift net

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use drift ice in a sentence

Frequent gatherings of drift-ice passed, and at times ground together with a disagreeably strong sound.
Cedar Creek|Elizabeth Hely Walshe
Here they saw an enormous herd of walruses, lying piled up over each other on the loose drift ice.
Notable Voyagers|W.H.G. Kingston and Henry Frith
Fog and rain and drift-ice were to be met on the grounds of Candlestick Cove.
Every Man for Himself|Norman Duncan
On the other hand, Agassiz seems to me mad about glaciers, and apparently never thinks of drift ice.
More Letters of Charles Darwin Volume II|Charles Darwin

The drift ice which the tempest had piled up around the "Alaska" had been broken up, and much of it had drifted away.
The Waif of the "Cynthia"|Andr Laurie and Jules Verne

British Dictionary definitions for drift ice

drift ice

noun

masses of ice floating in the open sea

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012