Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

ice

/aɪs/

Word Rarity Common

Frequency: 5.00 in modern English

Syllables
ice
IPA
/aɪs/
5
Scrabble Score
3
Letters
1
Syllables
3
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

Water in frozen (solid) form.

Uncountable

noun

Any frozen volatile chemical, such as ammonia or carbon dioxide.

Uncountable

noun

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.

Uncountable

noun

Something having an extreme coldness of manner.

Uncountable

noun

Something, such as awkwardness, that prevents open social interaction.

Uncountable

noun

The area where a game of ice hockey is played.

Uncountable

noun

Icing; frosting ("a sweet, often creamy and thick glaze made primarily of sugar").

Uncountable

noun

Ice cream.

British usage; Dated; Uncountable

Example Sentences

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₁eyH- Proto-Indo-European *h₁eyH-so-der. Proto-Germanic *īsą Proto-West Germanic *īs Old English īs Middle English is English ice 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 Superseded non-native Middle English glace (“ice”), borrowed from Old French glace (“ice”).

Origin

Word Breakdown

  • Root: hyse, īs, *īs, *īsą, *h₁eyH-

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /aɪs/
  • British English: /aɪs/

Usage

Subject

Wiktionary places this term in Law.

Inflected Forms

Derived Forms

Phrases

Frequently Paired Words

Synonyms

Rhymes With

Questions

How do you pronounce ice?
The recorded pronunciation is /aɪs/.
What does ice mean?
Water in frozen (solid) form.
Where does ice come from?
It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce ice

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “ice”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/aɪs/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “ice”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “ice” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.