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

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

The captives reported to Radisson that the English ship had been totally wrecked in the ice jam.

From Pathfinders of the West Being the Thrilling Story of the Adventures of the Men Who Discovered the Great Northwest: Radisson, La Vérendrye, Lewis and Clark by Laut, Agnes C. (Agnes Christina)