/ aɪs; NAmE / noun , verb
■ noun
1.
[ U ] water that has frozen and become solid :
There was ice on the windows.
The lake was covered with a sheet of ice .
My hands are as cold as ice.
—see also icy , black ice , dry ice
2.
[ sing. ] (usually the ice ) a frozen surface that people skate on :
The dancers came out onto the ice.
Both teams are on the ice, waiting for the whistle.
3.
[ U ] a piece of ice used to keep food and drinks cold :
I'll have lemonade please—no ice.
4.
[ C ] ( old-fashioned , especially BrE ) an ice cream
5.
[ U ] ( NAmE ) a type of sweet food that consists of ice that has been crushed and flavoured
•
IDIOMS
- break the ice
- cut no ice (with sb)
- on ice
—more at thin adjective
■ verb
[ vn ] to cover a cake with icing
•
PHRASAL VERBS
- ice over / up | ice sth over / up
••
WORD ORIGIN
Old English īs , of Germanic origin; related to Dutch ijs and German Eis .