igloo

[ ig-loo ]

noun,plural ig·loos.

an Inuit house, being a dome-shaped hut usually built of blocks of hard snow.
Informal. any dome-shaped construction thought to resemble an igloo: immense silos topped with steel igloos.

Military. a dome-shaped building for the storage of rockets or other munitions.
an excavation made by a seal in the snow over its breathing hole in the ice.

Origin of igloo

First recorded in 1855–60, igloo is from the Inuit word iglu “house”

Sometimes ig·lu .

Words Nearby igloo

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use igloo in a sentence

Once snug inside the igloos, diners and game-players have four separate menus to order from.
Shaw’s HalfSmoke is so cool, it’s hot | Evan Caplan | February 5, 2021 | Washington Blade
Someone is also going to have to enter each igloo to clean it between seatings.
When it comes to COVID-19 risk, what counts as ‘outdoor’ dining? | Sara Kiley Watson | January 11, 2021 | Popular-Science
Like other snow shelters, the igloo works best if it includes a cold well, a door, ventilation holes, and a sleeping platform.
Winter survival shelters you should know how to build | By Tim MacWelch/Outdoor Life | December 21, 2020 | Popular-Science
A quinzheeThe quinzhee is a dome-shaped snow shelter, similar in shape to an igloo, but much easier to construct.
Winter survival shelters you should know how to build | By Tim MacWelch/Outdoor Life | December 21, 2020 | Popular-Science
In addition, heated steel covers help keep hot dishes hot on their journey from kitchen to yurt or igloo, as do electric warmers atop delivery trays.
How to freshen up your takeout game and keep restaurant food hot in the cold | Tom Sietsema | December 11, 2020 | Washington Post

The set, cleared of chew toys, now housed a plastic igloo, several blocks of ice, pompoms and smelled strongly of herring.
‘The Puppy Bowl’: The Super Bowl’s Fiercest Rival | Lori-Lee Emshey | February 2, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
In their cheerleader personas, the penguins took over the stadium, entering through the igloo.
‘The Puppy Bowl’: The Super Bowl’s Fiercest Rival | Lori-Lee Emshey | February 2, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Walter Mondale emerged from his Twin Cities igloo to stump for reform.
The Liberal Case for Stonewalling | Samuel P. Jacobs | January 5, 2011 | THE DAILY BEAST
Whereupon they fell to heh-hehing afresh with cries of "igloo, igloo!"
Left on Labrador | Charles Asbury Stephens
From the 25th to the 29th, Kennedy, Harrisson and Jones were employed building an igloo to be used as a magnetic observatory.
The Home of the Blizzard | Douglas Mawson
On the afternoon of the 30th, the magnetician invited every one to a tea-party in the igloo to celebrate the opening.
The Home of the Blizzard | Douglas Mawson
The outside temperature was -33 degrees F. and it was not much higher inside the igloo.
The Home of the Blizzard | Douglas Mawson
An igloo was built as a shelter for those sinking the geological shaft, and seal-hunting was a daily recreation.
The Home of the Blizzard | Douglas Mawson

British Dictionary definitions for igloo

igloo

iglu

/ (ˈɪɡluː) /

nounplural -loos or -lus

a dome-shaped Inuit house, usually built of blocks of solid snow
a hollow made by a seal in the snow over its breathing hole in the ice

Origin of igloo

C19: from Inuktitut igdlu house

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

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