ice-free

American  

[ahys-free, -free] / ˈaɪsˈfri, -ˌfri /

adjective

1. free of ice.

2. (of a harbor or other body of water) free at all times of the year of any ice that would impede navigation.

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Etymology

Origin of ice-free

First recorded in 1890–95; ice + -free

Example Sentences

Noting that its waters are ice-free thanks to the Gulf Stream, the Norwegian consultancy Rystad Energy has, for example, suggested excluding the Barents Sea from the EU's definition of the Arctic.

From Barron's • Mar. 14, 2026

"But body condition is only one piece of the puzzle. Other recent research on these bears found that more ice-free days reduced survival in cubs and in subadult and old females."

From BBC • Jan. 29, 2026

Only 20% of Greenland is ice-free, the Center for Strategic & International Studies said in a report published earlier this month.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 23, 2026

A second sits near the seasonal edge of the ice in September, and the third was consistently ice-covered in 1980 but now experiences periodic ice-free conditions.

From Science Daily • Nov. 13, 2025

In a crisply argued paper in Science in 1964, Haynes drew attention to the correlation between the birth of “an ice-free, trans-Canadian corridor” and the “abrupt appearance of Clovis artifacts some 700 years later.”

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann