snow line

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noun

the line, as on mountains, above which there is perpetual snow.

the latitudinal line marking the limit of the fall of snow at sea level.

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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

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Origin of snow line

First recorded in 1825–35

Words nearby snow line

snow ice, snow-in-summer, snow job, snow leopard, snow lily, snow line, snowmaker, snowmaking, snowman, Snowmass Mountain, snowmelt

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

How to use snow line in a sentence

Fires are not only increasing in size and severity, they are also occurring at higher elevations and well above the snow line.
Heavy rains in drought-stricken states could be dangerous|Amir AghaKouchak/The Conversation|October 24, 2021|Popular-Science
As a spoiled SoCal hiker, I’m used to the snow line being well above 10,000 feet by midsummer.
Grand Teton Is a Hiker's Park|Emily Pennington|November 23, 2020|Outside Online
The snow line gradually sinks as one advances north-west, reaching only 2000 or 3000 ft. on the Alaskan coast.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 5, Slice 2|Various
Snow-finches and the Eastern alpine accentor appeared to be resident up to the snow-line.
Mount Everest the Reconnaissance, 1921|Charles Kenneth Howard-Bury

Sienite and feldspar succeeded in our descent to the snow line, where we found a felspathic granite.
The Life of Kit Carson|Edward S. Ellis
On these peaks snow-drifts lie the year round above the "snow-line," as a height over eight or nine thousand feet is called.
Stories of California|Ella M. Sexton
It was the first living creature, save for an occasional vulture, he had seen since leaving the snow-line.
The Terms of Surrender|Louis Tracy

British Dictionary definitions for snow line

snow line

noun

the altitudinal or latitudinal limit of permanent snow

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 snow line

snow line

The boundary marking the lowest altitude at which a given area, such as the top of a mountain, is always covered with snow.

The boundary marking the furthest extent around the polar regions at which there is snow cover. The polar snow lines vary with the seasons.