Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun An extensive dome-shaped or platelike perennial cover of ice and snow that spreads out from a center and covers a large area, especially of land or a polar region.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A general or continuous permanent covering of a certain area of land, whether large or small, with snow, névé, or ice, especially in the arctic regions.
  • noun In therapeutics, a rubber bag containing ice for application to the head.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun a mass of ice and snow that permanently covers a large area of land (e.g., the polar regions or a mountain peak).

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A permanent expanse of ice encompassing a large geographical area, e.g. in Earth's polar zones.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a mass of ice and snow that permanently covers a large area of land (e.g., the polar regions or a mountain peak)
  • noun a mass of ice and snow that permanently covers a large area of land (e.g., the polar regions or a mountain peak)

Etymologies

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Examples

  • Thanks to global warming, the Arctic icecap is rapidly melting, opening up access to massive natural resources and creating shipping shortcuts that could save billions of dollars a year.

    Arctic Meltdown « Isegoria 2008

  • We are given to believe that the polar icecap is receding, but if the polar icecap was receding August in our part of the world would be hot and dry as when the icecap receded, westerlies would move northward and high pressure systems from the south predominate.

    Coyote Blog » Blog Archive » In Praise of “Robber Barons” 2005

  • The icecap is a vast area of white wilderness, unspoiled and unknown, inhabited by polar bears and seals.

    What Works When Life Doesn’t Stuart Briscoe 2004

  • In fact, they'll be seeing the southern polar icecap, the permanent icecap, which is capped by this frozen dry ice stuff.

    CNN Transcript Aug 26, 2003 2003

  • The expedition team successfully erected a new research station at Dome Argus (Dome A), the pole's highest icecap, which is 4,093 meters above sea level.

    unknown title 2009

  • Antarctic icecap which is, for the most part, frozen determinedly rigid, Greenland in summer sits poised on the knife-edge between liquid and solid, a world of blues and whites, a landscape which in summer melts into fantastical sculptures which can last no longer than an afternoon.

    Home | Mail Online 2010

  • Rely on the journal articles, not on the 'icecap' blog, for credible information you can check for yourself.

    RealClimate 2009

  • Rely on the journal articles, not on the 'icecap' blog, for credible information you can check for yourself.

    RealClimate 2009

  • Rely on the journal articles, not on the 'icecap' blog, for credible information you can check for yourself.

    RealClimate 2009

  • Rely on the journal articles, not on the 'icecap' blog, for credible information you can check for yourself.

    RealClimate 2009

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