sleet

[ sleet ]

noun

1. precipitation in the form of ice pellets created by the freezing of rain as it falls ( hail ² ).
2. glaze ( def 17 ).
3. Chiefly British. a mixture of rain and snow.

verb (used without object)

1. to send down sleet.
2. to fall as or like sleet.

sleet

/ 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

verb

1. intr to fall as sleet

sleet

/ 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.

Derived Forms

• ˈsleety, adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of sleet¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of sleet¹

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

Example Sentences

Some areas from the District south are seeing a mix of snow, sleet and rain while, to the north, it’s more snow.

From Washington Post

Rechargeable hand warmers are susceptible to water damage, so it’s probably best to keep them away from snow and sleet.

From Popular-Science

Some sleet could start mixing in esp south and southeast of town.

From Washington Post

Monday night’s wintry mix generally produced a coating to an inch of snow and sleet from the District northward.

From Washington Post

In fact, sleet has been reported as far south as Woodbridge, Waldorf and Southern Maryland.

From Washington Post

Sleet is rain mixed with snow; there are pellet like snowflakes that fall between warming and cooling fronts.

From The Daily Beast

Many people do not understand the difference between sleet and freezing rain.

From The Daily Beast

In the past 63 years—through rain, sleet, snow, and bone-chilling cold—there have been 15 inaugural parades.

From The Daily Beast

“Rain, sleet, snow, shark, alien invasions, whatever,” Dobles says.

From The Daily Beast

Later, men soaked in sleet walked along the Garden Ring, oblivious to the weather and glowing with happy smiles.

From The Daily Beast

The weather was cold and the night dark, and there were peppery little showers of sleet.

From Project Gutenberg

All winter the cabin in Lonesome Cove slept through rain and sleet and snow, and no foot passed its threshold.

From Project Gutenberg

Then, after standing until almost night in the snow, which had now turned to sleet, the column was headed homeward.

From Project Gutenberg

After our one perfect day the weather changed again, and for the next three days we descended the Kama Valley in sleet and snow.

From Project Gutenberg

The rain and sleet beat through his clothes, and struck his skin with a sharp chilling touch that set him trembling.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• drench
• pour
• spray
• sprinkle