sleet

[ sleet ]

/ slit /

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See synonyms for: sleet / sleeted / sleeting on Thesaurus.com

noun

precipitation in the form of ice pellets created by the freezing of rain as it falls (distinguished from hail²).

glaze (def. 17).

Chiefly British. a mixture of rain and snow.

verb (used without object)

to send down sleet.

to fall as or like sleet.

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of sleet

1250–1300; (noun) Middle English slete; akin to Low German slote,German Schlossen hail; (v.) Middle English sleten, derivative of the noun

Words nearby sleet

sleepwear, sleep with, sleepy, sleepyhead, Sleepy Hollow chair, sleet, sleety, sleeve, sleeveboard, sleeve coupling, sleeve dog

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

How to use sleet in a sentence

Some areas from the District south are seeing a mix of snow, sleet and rain while, to the north, it’s more snow.
Snow and wintry mix continue overnight, especially north of District|Jason Samenow, Wes Junker, Andrew Freedman|February 11, 2021|Washington Post
Rechargeable hand warmers are susceptible to water damage, so it’s probably best to keep them away from snow and sleet.
Best hand warmers: Block the chill during your favorite winter activities|PopSci Commerce Team|February 10, 2021|Popular-Science
Some sleet could start mixing in esp south and southeast of town.
After 2 to 4 inches of snow, an icy night ahead in D.C. area. Snow showers possible Monday.|Jason Samenow, Dan Stillman, Andrew Freedman|February 1, 2021|Washington Post
Monday night’s wintry mix generally produced a coating to an inch of snow and sleet from the District northward.
Washington receives first measurable snow in 372 days, with another threat looming Sunday|Jason Samenow, Wes Junker|January 26, 2021|Washington Post

In fact, sleet has been reported as far south as Woodbridge, Waldorf and Southern Maryland.
Updated forecast: After coating of snow and sleet, period of freezing rain possible overnight|Jason Samenow, Dan Stillman|January 26, 2021|Washington Post
Sleet is rain mixed with snow; there are pellet like snowflakes that fall between warming and cooling fronts.
How to Survive a Southern Ice Storm|Nicholas Isabella|February 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Many people do not understand the difference between sleet and freezing rain.
How to Survive a Southern Ice Storm|Nicholas Isabella|February 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In the past 63 years—through rain, sleet, snow, and bone-chilling cold—there have been 15 inaugural parades.
Charlie Brotman, Announcer of Presidential Inaugurals Since Truman’s|Sandra McElwaine|January 17, 2013|DAILY BEAST
“Rain, sleet, snow, shark, alien invasions, whatever,” Dobles says.
Send This Hurricane Sandy Victim a Card, Please|Michael Daly|December 9, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Later, men soaked in sleet walked along the Garden Ring, oblivious to the weather and glowing with happy smiles.
Russia Cracks Down on North Caucasus Wedding Gunfire|Anna Nemtsova|October 28, 2012|DAILY BEAST
The weather was cold and the night dark, and there were peppery little showers of sleet.
A Little Union Scout|Joel Chandler Harris
All winter the cabin in Lonesome Cove slept through rain and sleet and snow, and no foot passed its threshold.
The Trail of the Lonesome Pine|John Fox, Jr.
Then, after standing until almost night in the snow, which had now turned to sleet, the column was headed homeward.
The County Regiment|Dudley Landon Vaill
After our one perfect day the weather changed again, and for the next three days we descended the Kama Valley in sleet and snow.
Mount Everest the Reconnaissance, 1921|Charles Kenneth Howard-Bury
The rain and sleet beat through his clothes, and struck his skin with a sharp chilling touch that set him trembling.
Gallegher and Other Stories|Richard Harding Davis

British Dictionary definitions for sleet

sleet

/ (sliːt) /

noun

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

mainly US the thin coat of ice that forms when sleet or rain freezes on cold surfaces

verb

(intr) to fall as sleet

Derived forms of sleet

sleety, adjective

Word Origin for sleet

C13: from Germanic; compare Middle Low German slōten hail, Middle High German slōze, German Schlossen hailstones

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

Scientific definitions for sleet

sleet

[ slēt ]

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.

sleet

Origin of sleet

Words nearby sleet

Words related to sleet

How to use sleet in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for sleet

Derived forms of sleet

Word Origin for sleet

Scientific definitions for sleet