glacier

American  

[gley-sher] / ˈgleɪ ʃər /

noun

glaciers plural

1. an extended mass of ice formed from snow falling and accumulating over the years and moving very slowly, either descending from high mountains, as in valley glaciers, or moving outward from centers of accumulation, as in continental glaciers.

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glacier British  

/ ˈɡlæsɪə, ˈɡleɪs- /

noun

1. a slowly moving mass of ice originating from an accumulation of snow. It can either spread out from a central mass ( continental glacier ) or descend from a high valley ( alpine glacier )

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glacier Scientific  

/ glā′shər /

1. A large mass of ice moving very slowly through a valley or spreading outward from a center. Glaciers form over many years from packed snow in areas where snow accumulates faster than it melts. A glacier is always moving, but when its forward edge melts faster than the ice behind it advances, the glacier as a whole shrinks backward.

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glacier Cultural  

1. A large mass of ice formed over many years that does not melt during the summer. Glaciers move slowly over an area of land such as a mountain valley.

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Discover More

A significant percentage of the water of the Earth is locked up in glaciers.

Glaciers exist in high mountains throughout the temperate zones and cover most of Antarctica. Glaciers recede during warm periods and can expand during cold periods, creating ice ages.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• glaciered
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• glaciers
  plural

Etymology

Origin of glacier

1735–45; < dialectal French, derivative of Old French glace ice < Late Latin glacia (for Latin glaciēs )

Explanation

A glacier is a very large ice mass, sometimes miles and miles long. Glaciers might not seem all that exciting at first, but people are paying close attention to them because their melting is an indication of climate change. Most glaciers on Earth are found around the North and South poles, but every continent except for Australia has glaciers somewhere in its high mountain ranges. People often want to go see glaciers because they're beautiful, and some you can actually hike across. Luckily, if you get thirsty glaciers are the planet’s largest reservoir of freshwater. You’ll just have to find some way of melting them . . .

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

glacier glaciers

He is best known for developing the "ice stupa" - an artificial cone-shaped glacier inspired by Buddhist stupas - that stores water during winter and releases it in late spring, when farmers need it most.

From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2026

Dr Emily Broadwell embarked on a three-month expedition to Signy Island in Antarctica to study the growth of rare snow and glacier algae for her PhD at the University of Bristol.

From BBC ● Jun. 30, 2026

The fairways may be wide and forgiving, but hitting at the greens can feel like trying to land the ball on a glacier.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 18, 2026

"The glacier, when you don't have snow, gives you two to three times more water," he said.

From Barron's ● Jun. 15, 2026

The glacier that hung from the cliffs at their backs was their reservoir of water: chipping ice and bringing it inside to melt on the stove was a critical job.

From "Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World" by Jennifer Armstrong

In Scotland, glaciers advanced again in parts of the uplands.

From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026

The snow and ice accumulated last winter by Switzerland's glaciers is expected to have all melted away by Monday, marking the alarming second-earliest arrival on record of the tipping point known as glacier loss day.

From Barron's ● Jun. 27, 2026

This century, the tipping point, on average, has been reached in mid-August -- itself already bad news for the nation's glaciers, which are shrinking at a staggering rate.

From Barron's ● Jun. 27, 2026

The Zurich team says almost all the winter reserves built up on the glaciers are about to run out, most likely on Monday, at which point the glaciers will start melting.

From BBC ● Jun. 26, 2026

Future searches will be difficult: thousands of years ago, the melting glaciers raised the seas, inundating coastal settlements, if they existed.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann

Related Words

• ice floe
• iceberg