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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

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

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

The city said that the filing triggers an automatic stay, effectively putting the Staten Island court order on ice until a higher court issues a judgment on the appeal.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026

Tidy general stores, ice cream parlors and a Main Street lined with striped awnings.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 9, 2026

The front page of the Daily Star takes aim at the cost of an ice cream this summer.

From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026

A Burbank landlord trying to land a trendy ice cream shop tenant got a critical assist from the city that helped seal the deal.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2026

In the middle of the cavern, a great, flat-topped stone gleamed like black ice.

From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver

Front-month West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures rose 0.1% to $78.29 a barrel and front-month Brent crude oil futures gained 0.3% to $83.80 a barrel, ICE data showed.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026

ICE plans to equip officers nationwide with body-worn cameras by the end of September, following mounting scrutiny over fatal encounters involving federal immigration officers.

From Salon ● Aug. 8, 2026

ICE spent $30.9 million on body-camera equipment in July, according to federal records cited by AP.

From Salon ● Aug. 8, 2026

ICE and Customs and Border Protection rely on about 3,000 community-based providers and local hospitals, which submit about 300,000 claims annually for detainee care, according to ICE.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 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

“I’ve had many names. The Gray Ghost. The Queen of Ice. Recently, the animals have started calling me the Ancient Shark. However, you may call me by my true name: Gurry.”

From "The Wild Robot Protects" by Peter Brown

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

Only a small number of distant comets have shown this kind of extended water source, and it points to layered ices that may preserve information about how and where the object originally formed.

From Science Daily ● Feb. 11, 2026

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

From BBC ● Jan. 5, 2026

Also complicating matters: Some objects that are classified as asteroids could also contain buried ices.

From Salon ● May 16, 2024

“Nathan’s hot dogs. New York pastrami, corned beef, baked pretzels, NewYork Italian ices, and don’t forget”—he pauses, dramatic—“Manhattan clam chowder.”

From "Paradise on Fire" by Jewell Parker Rhodes

"I'm keeping the air conditioning running full blast. I drink iced coffee and wear light clothes," said the 20-year-old.

From Barron's ● Aug. 4, 2026

It is also trying to appeal to "new and younger customers" through its new iced matcha lattes, and to health-conscious consumers by making nutritional information on its labels clearer.

From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026

Sugar-sweetened beverages included sodas, fruit punches, lemonades, iced teas, sports drinks and non-carbonated fruit drinks.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 23, 2026

Chandra was visiting her neighborhood Erewhon — she and her friend drive in from Inglewood — for their favorite treat: a Crushed Cococcino coconut iced coffee that they learned about on TikTok.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 11, 2026

He gives me a pink lemonade, Hudson an iced mocha, and Harriett a cappuccino with caramel drizzle.

From "What If It's Us" by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera

"I think it's what spurs you on really, finding a new species. It's like the icing on the cake, or the cherry on top."

From BBC ● Jul. 31, 2026

Any enrichment and information is icing on the cake.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 23, 2026

Ogwumike just delivered the icing on the cake.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 22, 2026

Your Social Security is the icing on the proverbial retirement cake.

From MarketWatch ● May 13, 2026

Palmer’s mother lit the candles, nine of them on the chocolate cake with chocolate icing.

From "Wringer" by Jerry Spinelli

Related Words

• bling
• bling-bling
• diamond
• diamonds