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Synonyms

snowdrift

American  
[snoh-drift] / ˈsnoʊˌdrɪft /

noun

  1. a mound or bank of snow driven together by the wind.

  2. snow driven before the wind.

snowdrift British  
/ ˈsnəʊˌdrɪft /

noun

  1. a bank of deep snow driven together by the wind

"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

Etymology

Origin of snowdrift

Middle English word dating back to 1250–1300; see origin at snow, drift

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.

Hours later, Syta got a frantic call from her mother after she’d been trapped in a snowdrift for several hours.

From Washington Post • Dec. 27, 2022

Use safeguards and properly ventilate when using heat from a fireplace, space heater or wood stove and make sure gas furnaces are not blocked by a snowdrift.

From Fox News • Oct. 26, 2021

Unable to make a dent in the rocky, frozen ground, Bjorge dug his foxhole in a snowdrift.

From Washington Times • Feb. 29, 2020

Reading “The Memory Police” is like sinking into a snowdrift: lulling yet suspenseful, it tingles with dread and incipient numbness.

From New York Times • Aug. 15, 2019

Next, Jack and the wolf found May, who had somehow managed to avoid being buried in the snow, landing on the sheltered side of a snowdrift.

From "Half Upon a Time" by James Riley

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.