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ice shelf

American

noun

an ice sheet projecting into coastal waters so that the end floats.

ice shelf British

noun

a thick mass of ice that is permanently attached to the land but projects into and floats on the sea

"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 shelf

First recorded in 1910–15

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.

They were investigating why sea ice detached from a glacier years after a nearby ice shelf broke apart in 2002.

From Science Daily • Feb. 26, 2026

No ice shelf setting is the same, but the researchers say their findings from the former British-Irish ice sheet could help understand how Antarctica might respond to today's rapidly warming climate.

From BBC • Apr. 24, 2025

The icebergs are comparable in size to some of the smaller icebergs found off present-day Antarctica, such as blocks that calved from the Larsen B ice shelf in 2002.

From BBC • Apr. 24, 2025

She said the satellites and aerial surveys that created Bedmap3 will allow researchers to better estimate how thick the ice is, particularly in transient zones where the grounded ice changes to a floating ice shelf.

From Salon • Apr. 5, 2025

Keeonekh would slide out upon the ice shelf, and hump his back, and begin to eat almost before the last bubble had tinkled behind him.

From Secret of the Woods by Long, William Joseph

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