ice sheet
Americannoun
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a broad, thick sheet of ice covering an extensive area for a long period of time.
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a glacier covering a large fraction of a continent.
noun
Etymology
Origin of ice sheet
First recorded in 1870–75
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
First, colder ocean temperatures during ice ages reduced melting beneath portions of the Antarctic ice sheet that extend below sea level.
From Science Daily ● May 29, 2026
A new study published in Nature Geoscience suggests Antarctica's ice sheet underwent a dramatic change about one million years ago, becoming much more responsive to shifts in Earth's climate.
From Science Daily ● May 29, 2026
This change poses a growing threat to the continent's delicate ice shelves, which line its coast and help stabilize the ice sheet.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 30, 2026
They examined ancient ice recovered from Allan Hills, a unique region along the edge of the East Antarctic ice sheet.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 24, 2026
Nathan got to his hands and knees and crawled to the edge of the ice sheet.
From "Healer of the Water Monster" by Brian Young
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
