Jump To:

• ice
  ice

  noun

  the solid form of water, produced by freezing; frozen water.
• ICE
  ICE

  noun

  Immigration and Customs Enforcement: a federal agency tasked with interior enforcement of U.S. customs and immigration laws, including cross-border investigations of criminal activity, and the arrest, detention, and removal of undocumented aliens.
• -ice
  -ice

  a suffix of nouns, indicating state or quality, appearing in loanwords from French.
• Ice.
  Ice.

  abbreviation

  Iceland.

ice

¹ American  

[ahys] / aɪs /

noun

• ice
  plural

1. the solid form of water, produced by freezing; frozen water.

2. the frozen surface of a body of water.

3. any substance resembling frozen water.

   camphor ice.

4. a frozen dessert made of sweetened water and fruit juice.

5. British. ice cream.

6. icing, as on a cake.

7. reserve; formality.

   The ice of his manner betrayed his dislike of the new ambassador.

8. Slang.

   1. a diamond or diamonds.

   2. protection money paid to the police by the operator of an illicit business.

   3. a fee that a ticket broker pays to a theater manager in order to receive a favorable allotment of tickets.

---

verb (used with object)

• ices,
  present (3rd person singular)
• iced,
  past participle,  past
• icing
  present participle

1. to cover with ice.

2. to change into ice; freeze.

3. to cool with ice, as a drink.

4. to cover (cake, sweet rolls, etc.) with icing; frost.

5. to refrigerate with ice, as air.

6. to make cold, as if with ice.

7. to preserve by placing on ice.

8. Ice Hockey. (especially in Canada) to put (a team) into formal play.

9. Slang.

   1. to settle or seal; make sure of, as by signing a contract.

      We'll ice the deal tomorrow.

   2. to make (a business arrangement) more attractive by adding features or benefits.

      The star pitcher wouldn't sign his new contract until the team iced it with a big bonus.

   3. to kill, especially to murder.

      The mobsters threatened to ice him if he went to the police.

10. Sports Slang. to establish a winning score or insurmountable lead in or otherwise assure victory in (a game or contest).

    Her second goal iced the game.

verb (used without object)

• ices,
  present (3rd person singular)
• iced,
  past participle,  past
• icing
  present participle

1. to change to ice; freeze.

   The sherbet is icing in the refrigerator.

2. to be coated with ice (often followed byup ).

   The windshield has iced up.

adjective

1. of or made of ice.

   ice shavings;

   an ice sculpture.

2. for holding ice and food or drink to be chilled.

   an ice bucket;

   an ice chest.

3. on or done on the ice.

   ice yachting.

idioms

1. ice it, stop it; that's enough.

   You've been complaining all day, so ice it.

2. break the ice,

   1. to succeed initially; make a beginning.

   2. to overcome reserve, awkwardness, or formality within a group, as in introducing persons.

      The chairman broke the ice with his warm and very amusing remarks.

3. ice the puck, to hit the puck to the far end of the rink, especially from the defensive area across the offensive area.

4. on thin ice, in a precarious or delicate situation: Also skating on thin ice.

   You may pass the course, but you're on thin ice right now.

5. on ice,

   1. with a good chance of success or realization.

      Now that the contract is on ice we can begin operating again.

   2. out of activity, as in confinement or imprisonment.

   3. in a state of abeyance or readiness.

      Let's put that topic on ice for the moment.

6. cut no ice, to have no influence or importance; fail to impress.

   Her father's position cuts no ice with me.

ICE ² American  

[ahys] / aɪs /

noun

1. Immigration and Customs Enforcement: a federal agency tasked with interior enforcement of U.S. customs and immigration laws, including cross-border investigations of criminal activity, and the arrest, detention, and removal of undocumented aliens.

2. in case of emergency: (usually designating an emergency-contact phone number in one's cell phone contact list).

   The paramedic found my mom's ICE number immediately.

---

-ice ³ American  

1. a suffix of nouns, indicating state or quality, appearing in loanwords from French.

   notice.

---

Ice. ⁴ American  

abbreviation

1. Iceland.

2. Icelandic.

---

ICE ¹ British  

abbreviation

1. Institution of Civil Engineers

---

ice ² British  

/ aɪs /

noun

1. water in the solid state, formed by freezing liquid water

2. a portion of ice cream

3. slang a diamond or diamonds

4. the field of play in ice hockey

5. slang a concentrated and highly potent form of methamphetamine with dangerous side effects

6. 1. to relieve shyness, etc, esp between strangers

   2. to be the first of a group to do something

7. informal to fail to make an impression

8. in abeyance; pending

9. unsafe or unsafely; vulnerable or vulnerably

10. informal Antarctica

---

verb

1. to form or cause to form ice; freeze

2. (tr) to mix with ice or chill (a drink, etc)

3. (tr) to cover (a cake, etc) with icing

4. slang (tr) to kill

5. 1. to shoot the puck from one end of the rink to the other

   2. to select which players will play in a game

Ice. ³ British  

abbreviation

1. Iceland(ic)

---

ice Scientific  

/ īs /

1. A solid consisting of frozen water. Ice forms at or below a temperature of 0°C (32°F). Ice expands during the process of freezing, with the result that its density is lower than that of water.

2. A solid form of a substance, especially of a substance that is a liquid or a gas at room temperature at sea level on Earth. The nuclei of many comets contain methane ice.

---

ice More Idioms  

1. see break the ice; cut no ice; on ice; on thin ice; put on ice; tip of the iceberg.

---

Usage

What else does ICE mean? ICE stands for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, a federal agency of the U. S. Department of Homeland Security.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• reice
  verb
• unice
  verb (used with object)
• iceless
  adjective
• icelike
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• ice
  plural

Participles

• icing
  present
• iced
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• ice
  simple
• ices
  simple
• have iced
  perfect
• has iced
  perfect
• am icing
  progressive
• are icing
  progressive
• is icing
  progressive
• have been icing
  perfect progressive
• has been icing
  perfect progressive

Past

• iced
  simple
• had iced
  perfect
• was icing
  progressive
• were icing
  progressive
• had been icing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will ice
  simple
• will have iced
  perfect
• will be icing
  progressive
• will have been icing
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of ice¹

First recorded before 900; 1905–10 ice for def. 8a; Middle English, Old English īs; cognate with German Eis, Old Norse īss

Origin of -ice³

Middle English -ice, -ise < Old French < Latin -itius, -itia, -itium abstract noun suffix

Explanation

Ice is water that's gotten cold enough to freeze solid. When the pond in your neighborhood is solid ice in January, it's safe to skate on. Ice takes many forms; you might slip on the ice, scrape sheets of ice off your car windows, or drop ice into your drink. In every case, the ice is frozen water, and when it freezes, it ices, the way roads ice over on winter nights. When you sprain your wrist, you should probably ice it, or hold ice on the injured area. You can also ice — or frost — a cupcake, or eat a sweet, cold fruit-flavored ice.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

ice ICE -ice Ice. ices iced icing

"I opened the package, and there was a giant, 200-year-old eyeball sitting on dry ice just staring back at me," the 28-year-old says with a laugh.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 23, 2026

But the prospect also carries environmental risks if increased traffic accelerates Arctic melting, with soot emissions that settle on the ice cap trapping heat from sunlight.

From Barron's ● Aug. 22, 2026

“This technology will help us find the Rebel scum and their hidden base on Hoth,” he said, referencing the ice planet in the Star Wars universe.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026

Data from Glamos, external reported a further glacier reduction of 3% across 2025, following record years of ice loss in 2022 and 2023.

From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026

‘I’m telling you so that you’ll understand. He was a strong, experienced hunter who knew the mountains -and still the ice river killed him. What hope -what chance -do you think we’d have?’

From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver

The judge wrote that GEO Group’s contract with ICE “plausibly” requires the company to follow only state laws that existed when the contract was signed.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 22, 2026

Zoley said ICE is contemplating buying more than 10 facilities, and that number “could continue to grow.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 22, 2026

In other instances, ICE has purchased facilities owned and operated by private companies.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 22, 2026

George Zoley, the chief executive of GEO Group, which contracts with ICE to run detention centers in California and across the country, said as much to company shareholders this year.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 22, 2026

I know about ICE, and I know they can’t take citizens like me and Mom away, so you won’t scare me.

From "Unusual Chickens for the Exceptional Poultry Farmer" by Kelly Jones

Mixed doubles curling continues and we add another two sports into the mix -ice hockey and moguls skiing.

From BBC ● Feb. 1, 2022

“Welcome to Ice. … Your duty location is New York, New York. Your EOD was on Tuesday, September 30th, 2025.”

From Slate ● Jan. 13, 2026

I’m like, ‘Well, you’re not my enemy. There’s another Ice. You don’t want to meet him.’

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 22, 2024

“They demo’d it to Ice. The FBI is testing it.”

From The Guardian ● Jan. 31, 2019

As she celebrated on the court, she pointed to the vein in the crook of her shooting arm and said “Ice. Ice. Ice.”

From Washington Times ● Apr. 2, 2018

But Getheren went on, and after two days’ journey came to the Pering Ice.**

From "The Left Hand of Darkness" by Ursula K. Le Guin

What ices it is that Quraishi offered to postpone this hearing given Judge Brann’s ruling that the office is operating illegally.

From Slate ● Mar. 20, 2026

As polar ices melt in the coming years, new shipping routes are expected to open up.

From BBC ● Jan. 5, 2026

Once formed, these ices can later release their molecules back into the gas.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 12, 2025

Also complicating matters: Some objects that are classified as asteroids could also contain buried ices.

From Salon ● May 16, 2024

The ices would all be melted during entry.

From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan

I like going to the coffee shop where the barista remembers that I take my mint tea iced and unsweetened, and I remember that she has a puppet showcase coming up.

From Salon ● Aug. 20, 2026

I could flip through so many of them, so that’s where I’m going to post up for a little bit, hopefully with an iced coffee in hand.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026

"I'm keeping the air conditioning running full blast. I drink iced coffee and wear light clothes," said the 20-year-old.

From Barron's ● Aug. 4, 2026

Dietitian Kate Hilton says she's drinking more iced water and eating cool, hydrating foods like cucumber, tomatoes, melon and frozen smoothies.

From BBC ● Jun. 25, 2026

In deep shadow, set well back from the water’s edge, was a white-painted tin table with a pitcher of iced punch under a square of cheesecloth.

From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan

Any enrichment and information is icing on the cake.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 23, 2026

But he said the icing on the cake was finding out Olivia was pregnant, due in June - and there was a surprise in store.

From BBC ● May 15, 2026

Your Social Security is the icing on the proverbial retirement cake.

From MarketWatch ● May 13, 2026

"But if all our instruments are powered up, and we can do important testing and calibration of the science instruments, that would be the icing on the cake."

From Science Daily ● May 11, 2026

“Keep icing it on and off. I want the swelling down some so I can set that bone tonight. Mix a spoonful of willow bark in water every few hours for pain.”

From "Pax" by Sara Pennypacker

Related Words

• bling
• bling-bling
• diamond
• diamonds