icicle
Americannoun
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icicles
plural
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a pendent, tapering mass of ice formed by the freezing of dripping water.
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a thin strip of paper, plastic, or foil, usually silvery, for hanging on a Christmas tree as decoration.
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a cold, unemotional person.
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of icicle
before 1000; Middle English isikel, Old English īsgicel, equivalent to īs ice + gicel icicle; akin to Old Norse jǫkul mass of ice, glacier
Explanation
An icicle is a long thin piece of ice formed when dripping water freezes, like the icicles you see hanging from houses after a winter storm. Icicle rhymes with bicycle. Under certain conditions, snow or ice will form into icicles. On a winter day, the sun melts snow or ice which begins to drip, especially from the edge of a roof. The melting water then refreezes, slowly building up to form a long, tapered shape. Icicle is slang for a person who is emotionally cold, like the icicle of a friend who ignores you when you need some moral support.
Vocabulary lists containing icicle
Wintry Words
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Shiloh
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Week 2 Spelling
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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.
See Examples For:
In the lounge, where Pike and his roommate host dinner parties, icicle lights hang from the ceiling and cases of Coca-Cola are stored in a corner.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 9, 2026
Drops will continue to run down the icicle, freezing at the end, to give the icicle its distinctive shape.
From BBC ● Jan. 8, 2025
There were icicle lights outside their rural Georgia home, garland on the banister and stockings hanging above the fireplace.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 21, 2023
It’s usually still an icicle after a two-hour flight.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 20, 2023
An icicle chill shot up her spine, but Akira forced herself to wade deeper into the chilly water.
From "Two Degrees" by Alan Gratz
The persistent plunk, plunk, plunk of icicles dripping into an aluminum gutter — a sound that is less birdsong than plumbing.
From Salon ● Mar. 1, 2026
Look out for more icicles like this over the next few days as there will be lots of wintry sunshine and the temperatures will remain close to freezing.
From BBC ● Jan. 8, 2025
Blades of grass hardened into icicles as snow fell and temperatures dropped in Houston, Texas.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 17, 2024
Blue and white light icicles drip from one garage, while a string of ornaments hangs from another.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 21, 2023
A few stalactite spears lost their grip on the ceiling and plummeted, shattering on the rock-strewn floor like falling icicles in a thaw.
From "The Smartest Kid in the Universe" by Chris Grabenstein
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
