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ice¹

  • /aɪs/ UK, US
  • [ʌɪs]

Rhymes with -aɪs

Where it comes from

From Middle English hyse, hyys, ice, ijs, is, yce, ys, yys, from Old English īs, from Proto-West Germanic *īs, from Proto-Germanic *īsą (“ice”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁eyH- (“ice, frost”).

Cognates

Cognate with North Frisian Iis, is (“ice”), Saterland Frisian Ies (“ice”), West Frisian iis (“ice”), Alemannic German Iis, isch, éisch (“ice”), Bavarian, Cimbrian, and Mòcheno ais (“ice”), Dutch ijs (“ice”), German Eis (“ice”), German Low German Ies (“ice”), Luxembourgish Äis (“ice”), Vilamovian ajs (“ice”), Yiddish אײַז (ayz, “ice”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, and Swedish is (“ice”), Elfdalian ais (“ice”), Faroese ísur (“ice”), Icelandic ís (“ice”); also Cornish yey (“ice”), yeyn (“cold”), Irish oighear (“ice”), Scottish Gaelic deigh, eigh, eighre (“ice”), Welsh iâ (“ice”), Lithuanian ýnis (“hoar frost”), Bulgarian and Russian и́ней (ínej, “hoar frost”), Czech jíní (“frost”), Macedonian and Serbo-Croatian и́ње (“hoar frost”), Ukrainian і́ній (ínij, “hoar frost, rime”), Ossetian их (ix, “ice”), Armenian եղյամ (eġyam, “frost, hoar frost, rime”), Persian یخ (yax, “ice”), Hittite 𒂊𒃷 (“ice”). Superseded non-native Middle English glace (“ice”), borrowed from Old French glace (“ice”).

noun ices · yce

  1. uncountable, usually Water in frozen (solid) form. He said, “Where we’re at right now was back in 2008 all covered with ice. From here to there at the side, the glacier shrank about 20 to 30 meters.”
  2. uncountable, usually Any frozen volatile chemical, such as ammonia or carbon dioxide.
  3. uncountable, usually Any volatile chemical, such as water, ammonia, or carbon dioxide, not necessarily in solid form, when discussing the composition of e.g. a planet as an ice giant vs a gas giant. Above the core is the lower-density liquid mantle composed of ice materials under high pressure and temperature. This massive liquid layer would not be separated into layers of traditional ice compounds, but mixtures of radically different compounds originally consisting of water, carbon dioxide, me
  4. figuratively, uncountable, usually Something having an extreme coldness of manner. a heart of ice
  5. figuratively, uncountable, usually Something, such as awkwardness, that prevents open social interaction. The dialogues—or "raps"—usually take place on a monthly or bi-monthly basis and aim at fostering contacts hand at breaking through stereotypical notions held by both sides. "There's no question that there's ice to begin with," said Lance Bradley, who conducts the raps for Chelsea's Tenth Precinct.
  6. uncountable, usually The area where a game of ice hockey is played. 2006, CBC, Finland, Sweden 'the dream final', February 26 2002, The neighbouring countries have enjoyed many great battles on the ice. They last met for gold at the 1998 world championship, won by Sweden. Three years earlier, Finland bested Sweden for the only world title in its history.
  7. dialectal, uncountable, usually Icing; frosting ("a sweet, often creamy and thick glaze made primarily of sugar"). Well weddings, they were just the usual ... my big brother was married in the Masonic and the Co-operative done the party. Steak pie and tatties, and all that sort of stuff. The wee square Albert cake with ice on it, fruit cake. Then the wee dance after that. There was no drinking at oor wedding!
  8. UK, dated, uncountable, usually Ice cream. They exude a naive zest: coatings of detail, poured like thick chocolate sauce over a mingy scoop of vanilla ice, distract attention, criticism, distrust.
  9. countable, uncountable, usually A frozen dessert made of fruit juice, water and sugar.
  10. UK, countable, dated, uncountable, usually An ice cream.
  11. countable, obsolete, uncountable, usually An individual piece of ice.
  12. slang, uncountable, usually Elephant or rhinoceros ivory that has been poached and sold on the black market.
  13. slang, uncountable, usually An artifact that has been smuggled, especially one that is either clear or shiny.
  14. slang, uncountable, usually Money paid as a bribe. Theater operators, theater party agents, playwrights, and others who have ready access to tickets may get in on the “ice” and sometimes the producer is in on it too.
  15. slang, uncountable, usually The crystal form of amphetamine-based drugs, including methamphetamine. Near-synonym: crystal meth

    Similar: crystal meth

  16. slang, uncountable, usually One or more diamonds. But you can't give cred to anything dude says / Same dude to give you ice and you owe him some head

verb ices · icing · iced · yce

  1. intransitive To become ice; to freeze.
  2. transitive To cool with ice, as an injured body part or a beverage. To treat runner's knee, you need to rest from running or any other high-impact activity, ice the knee, and strengthen the quadriceps through weight training.
  3. transitive To make icy; to freeze. The bridge ices before the road.
  4. transitive To cover with icing (frosting made of sugar and milk or white of egg); to frost; as cakes, tarts, etc.
  5. transitive To put out a team for a match. Milton Keynes have yet to ice a team this season
  6. transitive To shoot the puck the length of the playing surface, causing a stoppage in play called icing. If the Bruins ice the puck, the faceoff will be in their own zone.
  7. slang, transitive To murder. Not long afterwards Wolf rings him up. 'I want you to ice someone for £15,000, he says. "No one you know."
  8. slang, transitive To defeat decisively. Despite his vulnerabilities, Clinton managed to ice Dole in his 1996 reelection campaign for President.

ICE²

  • /aɪs/
  • /aɪ siː iː/

proper noun

  1. abbreviation Abbreviation of Iceland
  2. abbreviation, initialism Initialism of Institution of Civil Engineers
  3. abbreviation, initialism Initialism of International Cultural Exchange
  4. US, abbreviation, acronym Acronym of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“law-enforcement agency responsible for immigration and customs matters of the United States Federal government”). Mr. Schlossberg’s rant angered activists for immigrant rights, who said it reinforced stereotypes that Spanish speakers are not citizens. And they worried that it perpetuated fear within immigrant communities of ICE’s aggressive tactics to deport those who are undocumented.
  5. abbreviation, initialism Initialism of Intercity-Express (“German high speed train”).

noun ICEs

  1. abbreviation, acronym, countable, uncountable Acronym of internal combustion engine “ICE-ing is EV owner-speak for when an internal combustion engine (ICE) car blocks or parks in a charging point space. On EV internet forums, stories of drivers being ICEd abound. But rather than scuffles breaking out, if stories are to be believed, British EV drivers resort to leaving notes and icy
  2. abbreviation, countable, initialism, uncountable Initialism of internal compiler error
  3. abbreviation, countable, initialism, uncountable Initialism of in-circuit emulator/emulation
  4. abbreviation, countable, initialism, uncountable Initialism of in-car entertainment

    Similar: IVI

  5. abbreviation, acronym, countable, mnemonic, uncountable Acronym of ice, compress, elevation (first-aid).
  6. abbreviation, countable, initialism, uncountable Initialism of intercontinental exchange But ICE says futures trading in a variety of carbon-linked financial instruments -- where the bulk of trading activity occurs -- would continue apace. That includes trading in futures and options contracts for EUAs and the carbon offsets credits issued by U.N. organizations, the Certified Emission R
  7. abbreviation, acronym, countable, uncountable Acronym of iridocorneal endothelial syndrome

phrase

  1. abbreviation, initialism Initialism of in case of emergency, used in mobile phones followed by the number to call if the phone’s owner is injured.

verb ICEs · ICEing · ICEd

  1. slang To occupy a reserved electric car parking space (especially one equipped with a charger) with a traditional car equipped with an internal combustion engine. “We do get charge rage if someone ICEs your bay. And people don’t like it if someone parks a Tesla to charge for two hours. When your car has finished charging, our message is: move it.” ICE-ing is EV owner-speak for when an internal combustion engine (ICE) car blocks or parks in a charging point sp
  2. neologism, slang, transitive, uncommon To apprehend or deport by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
  3. neologism, slang, transitive, uncommon To kill (in reference to and hypothetically by Immigration and Customs Enforcement).

adjective more ICE · most ICE

  1. abbreviation, initialism Initialism of isolated, confined, extreme. Antarctica, like outer-space, is known as an ICE environment – isolated, confined and extreme – meaning unlike other isolated communities, the rate of change for its vocabulary can be slower.

Ice³

proper noun Ices

  1. countable, uncountable A surname.
  2. countable, uncountable Alternative letter-case form of ICE David Huerta, president of SEIU California and SEIU-USWW, was serving as a community observer during an Ice raid in Los Angeles, and was arrested by federal agents over allegations of interfering.
  3. US, countable, often, uncountable, with definite article Antarctica. Over three weeks in 2019, Kaefer spent time at three English-speaking Antarctic stations observing and gathering data from workers based on what the US station refers to as “The Ice”, or the British call the “South”.

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: frost, water ice, frappe, frosting, ice-skating rink, ice rink, snow, snowfall, snowy, sleet, floe, hail, snowstorm, rime, glaciate, freeze

Translations

Every language

noun water in frozen form

Españolhielo, del agua su duro
한국어얼음 eoreum
日本語氷 kōri, アイス aisu
中文冰 bīng
हिन्दीहिम him, बर्फ़ barf
Kiswahilibarafu
Portuguêsgelo
Françaisglace
DeutschEis
Italianoghiaccio
Ελληνικάπάγος págos
Românăgheață
Русскийлёд ljod
Tiếng Việtbăng, đá
العربيةجَلِيد jalīd, ثَلْج ṯalj
עבריתקֶרַח kérakh

noun frozen volatile chemical

日本語ドライアイス dorai-aisu
Portuguêsgelo
Françaisglace sèche, glace, neige
Italianoghiaccio secco
Românăgheață carbonică
Русскийлёд ljod, сухо́й лёд suxój ljod

noun ice hockey: area where game is played

Portuguêsrinque
Françaisglace
DeutschEis
Русскийлёд ljod

noun frozen dessert

Españolhelado
한국어아이스 aiseu, 아이스크림 aiseukeurim
日本語アイス aisu, アイスクリーム aisukurīmu
中文冰沙 bīngshā, 思慕雪 sīmùxuě, 刨冰 bàobīng, 雪泥 xuění, 雪芭 xuěbā
Portuguêsgelado
Françaisglace, sorbet, glace à l’eau, crème glacée
DeutschEis
Italianogelato
Românăînghețată
Русскийморо́женое moróženoje

noun crystal methamphetamine

中文冰毒 bīngdú, 冰 bīng
Русскийайс ajs, мет met

verb to freeze

Españolcongelar
한국어얼다 eolda
日本語凍る kōru
中文冰冻 bīngdòng
Portuguêscongelar, gelar
Françaiscongeler, geler, glacer
Deutscheinfrieren, frieren
Italianogelare, ghiacciare, congelare
Românăîngheța, congela
Русскийзамора́живать zamoráživatʹ, замора́живаться zamoráživatʹsja

verb to cool with ice

Portuguêsgelar
Italianoraffreddare
Românărăci
Русскийохлажда́ть oxlaždátʹ

verb to cover with icing

Portuguêscobrir
Françaisglacer
Italianoglassare
Românăglasa
Русскийглазирова́ть glazirovátʹ

verb to murder

Portuguêsassassinar
Françaisrefroidir
Italianofreddare
Românărăci
Русскийзамочи́ть zamočítʹ

name Immigration and Customs Enforcement

EspañolICE

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Cite this
MLA

"ice." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/ice. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

ice. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/ice

Chicago

"ice." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/ice.

BibTeX
@misc{ice_2026,
  title = {ice},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/ice},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}