Igloo

//ˈɪɡ.luː// noun

noun ·Moderate ·College level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A dome-shaped Inuit shelter, constructed of blocks cut from snow.
  2. 2
    an Eskimo hut; usually built of blocks (of sod or snow) in the shape of a dome wordnet
  3. 3
    A cavity, or excavation, made in the snow by a seal, over its breathing hole in the sea ice.
  4. 4
    A reinforced bunker for the storage of nuclear weapons.

    "General James Walsh signalled Strategic Air Command that the B-47 tore apart the igloo and knocked about 3 mark sixes."

  5. 5
    A kind of airfreight cargo container.

    "Since most major airlines have interline agreements, if your cargo is in an igloo or container, it can be moved as is […]"

Synonyms

All synonyms
apsearcadearcaturearcharched roofarchway

Example

More examples

"Tom built an igloo in his backyard."

Etymology

From Inuktitut ᐃᒡᓗ (iclo, “house, building (of any kind)”), from Proto-Inuit *ǝɣlu, from Proto-Eskimo *ǝŋlu.

Related phrases

snow fort

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