ice field
Americannoun
noun
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a very large flat expanse of ice floating in the sea; large ice floe
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a large mass of ice permanently covering an extensive area of land
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A large expanse of ice covering a mountainous region and consisting of several interconnected glaciers.
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An extensive area of ice on the surface of the ocean, consisting of multiple ice floes and covering an area that is greater than 10 km (6.2 mi) across.
Etymology
Origin of ice field
First recorded in 1685–95
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.
We flew into skies choked with smoke from the Canadian wildfires—I couldn’t escape the fires after all—and over glaciers and an ice field that are in the process of disappearing.
From Slate • Aug. 9, 2024
In Alaska, researchers estimate algae accounts for almost one-fifth of the annual melt across a large ice field.
From Seattle Times • Jul. 21, 2023
Scientists search an ice field in Antarctica for meteorites.
From Science Magazine • Jan. 25, 2023
Both ice field and desert offer gradations of white and gray, strongly contrasted by dark areas that include skies whose original blues become intense blacks.
From Washington Post • Feb. 1, 2019
Because the water forces out salt as it freezes, the water below the ice field is saturated with salt and minerals, and the ice itself is clean enough to melt into drinking water.
From "Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World" by Jennifer Armstrong
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.
