glacier

IPA/ˈɡlæsiə(r)/
KK[ɡlˈeʃɚ]IPA/ˈɡleɪʃər/

glacier — noun

  • glaciersingular
  • glaciersplural

1. a very large, slow-moving body of ice that develops when layers of snow compress

1.nounB1
Definition

a very large, slow-moving body of ice that develops when layers of snow compress over hundreds of years, found in high mountain regions or polar areas

Example

The Okonkwo family saw a huge glacier during their trip to Alaska last summer.

collocation: huge glacier

Leila's research team measures how fast the glacier is moving each spring.

grammar: the glacier + movement verb (is moving)

Common collocations
  • melting glacier
  • retreating glacier
  • glacier melt
  • glacial ice
Synonyms
  • ice sheet

    much larger than a glacier, covering entire landmasses such as Antarctica or Greenland

  • ice cap

    a dome-shaped mass of ice covering a highland area, smaller than an ice sheet

  • iceberg

    a piece of ice that has broken off a glacier and floats in the sea

Grammar Patterns

a/the glacier

glaciers (plural)

Usage Note

Glaciers are on land, unlike icebergs which are pieces of ice floating in the sea.

Common Mistakes

The ship hit a glacier.
The ship hit an iceberg.
Glaciers are on land; icebergs are chunks that have broken off and float in water.

Word family

  • glacial
    adjectiveB2
  • glaciated
    adjectiveC1
  • glaciation
    nounC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

A glacier is a slow-moving river of ice that forms on mountains or in polar valleys. An ice sheet is vastly larger — the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets are continental in scale. An ice cap is a smaller dome of ice covering a highland area, like those found on Iceland or Svalbard. An iceberg is not on land at all: it is a piece that has calved (broken off) from a glacier or ice shelf into the ocean. So while a hiker can walk on a glacier, a ship must avoid an iceberg.

ice sheeticeberg ↗ice cap

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • glacier national park
  • glacier hiking
  • glacier retreat

Prepositions

  • of the glacier
  • on the glacier
  • from the glacier

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

Glacier entered English in the 1700s from French 'glacier', which came from the Latin 'glacies' meaning ice. The word originally described the great ice rivers of the Alps before being applied to similar formations worldwide.