Icy Meaning
/ˈaɪsi/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
adjPertaining to, resembling, or abounding in ice; cold; frosty.
adjCovered with ice, wholly or partially.
Sentence Examples
If you're not careful, you might slip and fall on the icy steps.
Jim slipped on the icy road and got hurt.
CEFR Practice Quiz
Be careful walking on the ____ sidewalk because it is covered in frozen water.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
Be extra careful when you are walking today because the sidewalks are very ____ and slippery.
Word Origin & History
From ice + -y; cf. Old English īsiġ.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"To go through this experience in bitter winter weather and stumble along the line in the pitch darkness at 6 o'clock in the morning, into an icy-cold foundry, as was the writer's experience, was not too good."
— 1944 November and December, A Former Pupil, “Some Memories of Crewe Works—II”, in Railway Magazine, page 342:
"With milke-white Hartes vpon an Iuorie ſled,
Thou ſhalt be drawen amidſt the froſen Pooles,
And ſcale the yſie mountaines lofty tops:
Which with thy beautie will be soone reſolu’d."
— c. 1587–1588 (date written), [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […], 2nd edition, part 1, London: […] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones, […], published 1592, →OCLC; reprinted as Tamburlaine the Great (A Scolar Press Facsimile), Menston, Yorkshire; London: Scolar Press, 1973, →ISBN, Act I, scene ii:
"Antarctica is the coldest, iciest place on Earth, which makes the recent warming event particularly worrying for many scientists."
— 2022 March 25, Rachel Ramirez and Hafsa Khalil, “Antarctic ice shelf nearly the size of Los Angeles collapsed as temperatures soared to 40 above normal”, in CNN:
"Morning commuters in parts of Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas discovered slick sidewalks and icy roadways Monday."
— 2024 January 21, Elizabeth Wolfe, Robert Shackelford and Mary Gilbert, “Icy conditions make for hazardous travel across central US, but warmer air is on the horizon”, in CNN:
"I wasn't all the way icy. It wasn't like I could just give a girl a baby and forget about them."
— 2006, Noire [pseudonym], Thug-A-Licious: An Urban Erotic Tale, New York, N.Y.: One World, Ballantine Books, →ISBN, page 206:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
Be careful walking on the ____ sidewalk because it is covered in frozen water.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
Be extra careful when you are walking today because the sidewalks are very ____ and slippery.