ice jam

American  

noun

1. an obstruction of broken river ice in a narrow part of a channel.

2. a mass of lake or sea ice broken and piled up against the shore by wind pressure.

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Etymology

Origin of ice jam

First recorded in 1840–50

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

ice jam

And in far northern Maine, near the Canadian border, there’s still deep snow and a mile-long ice jam on the Aroostook River in Fort Fairfield, said Joseph Hewitt of the National Weather Service in Caribou.

From Washington Times ● Mar. 26, 2020

In Newaygo County, Mich., where a 21-mile ice jam on the Muskegon River had flooded yards and closed a bridge, the warm-up was welcome.

From New York Times ● Feb. 1, 2019

The ice jam on the Ohio River begins at the Emsworth Dam and extends upriver.

From Seattle Times ● Jan. 19, 2018

Watch drone footage of the Susquehanna River ice jam:

From Washington Post ● Jan. 17, 2018

They managed to get as far as Presqu' Isle, partly on the honeycombed ice, and partly in the woods, when they found themselves face to face with an ice jam.

From The History of the Post Office in British North America by Smith, William, Sir