ice sheet

American

noun

a broad, thick sheet of ice covering an extensive area for a long period of time.
a glacier covering a large fraction of a continent.

ice sheet British

noun

a thick layer of ice covering a large area of land for a long time, esp those in Antarctica and Greenland

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of ice sheet

First recorded in 1870–75

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.

This change poses a growing threat to the continent's delicate ice shelves, which line its coast and help stabilize the ice sheet.

From Science Daily • Apr. 30, 2026

Their chemical signatures reveal when the surface was last exposed to sunlight, helping pinpoint past periods when the ice sheet disappeared.

From Science Daily • Apr. 18, 2026

Deep within Greenland's vast ice sheet, scientists have uncovered an unusual chemical signal that has sparked years of debate.

From Science Daily • Mar. 20, 2026

Instead, they highlight how complex and dynamic the ice sheet really is.

From Science Daily • Mar. 14, 2026

Moments later, a loud boom erupted and instead of ripples, small waves lapped the edges of the ice sheet.

From "Healer of the Water Monster" by Brian Young

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023