polar cap
Americannoun
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Geology. the icecap situated at either end of the earth's poles.
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Astronomy. either of the two bright areas around the poles of the planet Mars, consisting of water ice and frozen carbon dioxide.
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The mass of ice that covers either of the Earth's polar regions year-round.
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The mass of frozen carbon dioxide and water that covers either of Mars's polar regions.
Etymology
Origin of polar cap
First recorded in 1890–95
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.
Webb captured this dynamic world with rings, moons, storms, and other atmospheric features -- including a seasonal polar cap.
From Science Daily • Dec. 19, 2023
They note that there are several bright storms visible both near and below the southern border of the polar cap.
From Salon • Dec. 19, 2023
Scientists can use that data to extrapolate how much heat might be rising from beneath the south polar cap, melting the ice and creating more potential lakes.
From Nature • Jul. 24, 2018
Topping off this strange image is a distinctly red polar cap, of unknown composition.
From Textbooks • Oct. 13, 2016
No blue sea would be lapping the shores of Barrow; instead the Arctic Ocean would be a roaring white cauldron forming ice that would join the land with the polar cap.
From "Julie of the Wolves" by Jean Craighead George
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.
