Glacier

//ˈɡlæs.jə// name, noun

name, noun ·Moderate ·College level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A large body of ice which flows under its own mass, usually downhill.

    "They warned that the effects of glacier melting on water resources are becoming “increasingly serious” for China."

  2. 2
    a slowly moving mass of ice wordnet
  3. 3
    An area of a mountain where snow is present year-round.

    "You can ski down the glacier in both the winter and the summer."

Proper Noun
  1. 1
    A locality in the Rocky Mountains, British Columbia, Canada.
  2. 2
    A census-designated place in Whatcom County, Washington, United States.

Synonyms

All synonyms
bergcalfcryospheredry icefirnfloe

Example

More examples

"The glacier moves but by inches."

Etymology

Borrowed from French glacier, from Franco-Provençal gllaciér, from Vulgar Latin *glaciārium, a derivative of Latin glaciēs (“ice”), of uncertain origin. First attested in English in 1744 per the OED.

Related phrases

Doomsday GlacierGlacier CountyHubbard GlacierRuth GlacierSiachen GlacierThwaites Glaciercontinental glacierglacier birdglacier buttercupglacier creamglacier glassesglacier lily

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.