ice pick

American  

noun

1. a sharp-pointed tool for chipping or cutting ice.

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ice pick British  

noun

1. a pointed tool used for breaking ice

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Etymology

Origin of ice pick

First recorded in 1860–65

Example Sentences

If we encounter any ice, we have an ice pick or sledgehammer.

From Slate • Feb. 24, 2026

Tariq recalls a colleague poking fun at his bald spot during a shopping trip, and describing that as "like an ice pick to my heart".

From BBC • Oct. 31, 2025

In June 1975, Angela Davis wrote about an incarcerated Black woman, Joan Little, who killed a white prison guard in North Carolina with the ice pick he brought into her cell.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 8, 2023

Emerging from the pipe, the men untangled the mouse-size bats from their nets, a delicate process given the tangle of spiny wings in the mesh and the animals’ ice pick teeth.

From Science Magazine • Apr. 13, 2022

“Look at you, slick. Sharper than a ice pick, ain’t ya?” he said, extending his hand to me.

From "The Boy in the Black Suit" by Jason Reynolds