sleet

American  

[sleet] / slit /

noun

1. precipitation in the form of ice pellets created by the freezing of rain as it falls (hail ).

2. glaze.

3. Chiefly British. a mixture of rain and snow.

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verb (used without object)

1. to send down sleet.

2. to fall as or like sleet.

sleet British  

/ sliːt /

noun

1. partly melted falling snow or hail or (esp US) partly frozen rain

2. the thin coat of ice that forms when sleet or rain freezes on cold surfaces

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verb

1. (intr) to fall as sleet

sleet Scientific  

/ slēt /

1. Precipitation that falls to earth in the form of frozen or partially frozen raindrops, often when the temperature is near the freezing point. Sleet usually leaves the cloud in the form of snow that melts as it passes through warm layers of air during its descent. The raindrops and partially melted snowflakes then freeze in the colder layers nearer the earth before striking the ground as pellets of ice, which usually bounce. By contrast, hail forms by the accumulation of layers of ice on the hailstone as it moves up and down in the cloud, and hailstones can become much larger than sleet pellets. The word sleet is also used informally to describe a mixture of snow, sleet, and rain.

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Other Word Forms

• sleety adjective

Etymology

Origin of sleet

First recorded in 1250–1300; (for the noun) Middle English slete; akin to Low German slote, German Schlossen “hail”; (for the verb) Middle English sleten, derivative of the noun

Example Sentences

Milder temperatures are expected on Wednesday with wintry showers expected in the north, falling as rain or sleet near the coasts.

From BBC

The cold weather will continue after that, with a "continuation of wintry showers" forecast as well as a mix of rain, sleet and snow later in the day.

From BBC

The difficulty for forecasters will be pinpointing the fine temperature boundaries that dictate where snow, sleet or rain falls.

From BBC

The sleet and snow showers that moved southwards across the country on Thursday night created a visual treat for our BBC WeatherWatchers, but also meant slippery roads and pavements for those venturing out.

From BBC

Overnight into Friday an area of rain, sleet and snow will spread through Northern Ireland, Wales, parts of north-west England, the Midlands and southern England.

From BBC

Related Words

• deluge
• drizzle
• flood
• hail
• mist
• monsoon
• precipitation
• rainfall
• rainstorm
• shower
• showers
• stream
• torrent