Pronunciation

/aɪs/

Definitions

• Noun: frozen water in a solid state, typically forming on surfaces during cold weather. For example: “The lake was covered with a thick layer of ice.”
  • Also used metaphorically, like in “breaking the ice” which means to initiate conversation or make a situation less formal or tense. Example: “They broke the ice by talking about their shared interest in music.”
  • As a substance: “Add some ice to cool down your drink.”
• Verb: (usually in its participle form ‘iced’) to cover or freeze with ice; to cool with ice. Example: “I iced the cake before adding the frosting.”
  • In informal contexts, it can also mean to defeat decisively or completely. Example: “Our team iced theirs in the final seconds of the game.”

Phrases

• “On thin ice”: being in a precarious or risky situation. Example: “After several warnings, he’s now on thin ice with his boss.”
• “Break the ice”: to initiate social interaction, especially in a new or awkward situation. Example: “To break the ice, we played a few icebreaker games.”
• “Ice skating”: the act of gliding on ice using skates. Example: “She loves going ice skating during winter.”

Example Sentences

• Noun: “The child held a snowball made from compacted ice.”
• Verb: “She iced her sprained ankle to reduce swelling.”

Synonyms

• Freeze
• Frost
• Glaze (in the context of freezing)
• Chilled (when referring to cooled items)
• Solidified water
• Frozen water

As an interjection, ‘ice’ doesn’t typically have a standard usage as a greeting or exclamation like “hello.” However, in colloquial slang, ‘ice out’ could be used to mean excluding or ignoring someone deliberately, but this usage is not common enough to be included in standard dictionaries as an interjection.