adjective
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covered with or abounding in snow
snowy hills
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characterized by snow
snowy weather
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resembling snow in whiteness, purity, etc
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of snowy
before 1000; Middle English snawy, Old English snāwig. See snow, -y 1
Explanation
Snowy things are covered with snow or resemble snow—like snowy rooftops in the winter or your grandpa's snowy beard that makes him look like Santa Claus. You can use snowy to describe the hills and fields in Vermont during your January visit, and also when you talk about the weather: "Next week looks snowy, but it's going to warm up after that." Things that are the brilliant white color of fresh snow are also snowy, like a swan's snowy feathers or your neighbor's snowy wall-to-wall carpet that you're not allowed to walk on.
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.
James did that by building Australia’s only 13-foot mini halfpipe for kids in the Snowy Mountains of New South Wales, where he trains when he’s in Australia.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 18, 2025
Snowy weather is forecast for 46% of the U.S. population, with a strong storm impacting the Central U.S. late in the holiday weekend.
From Barron's • Nov. 25, 2025
Mrs Deamer said when Snowy "landed" at their home near Luton, it jumped next door, but when they started putting out food for the pheasant, it came back.
From BBC • Jul. 26, 2025
Snowy areas in in the Rocky Mountains of North America, the European Alps and northern Europe are thawing prematurely as the Earth warms.
From Science Daily • Jun. 4, 2024
A low, soft hooting came from a dark shop with a sign saying Eeylops Owl Emporium — Tawny, Screech, Barn, Brown, and Snowy.
From "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" by J.K. Rowling
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.
