ice shelf

American

noun

an ice sheet projecting into coastal waters so that the end floats.

ice shelf British

noun

a thick mass of ice that is permanently attached to the land but projects into and floats on the sea

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of ice shelf

First recorded in 1910–15

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

In addition, much of that iron appears to come from a different form of meltwater than the kind produced directly by melting ice shelves.

From Science Daily

They were investigating why sea ice detached from a glacier years after a nearby ice shelf broke apart in 2002.

From Science Daily

Longer term, the bird's best chance for survival is to adapt to moult on shallow ice shelves.

From BBC

This four-stage pattern of structural decline may be a signal for other Antarctic ice shelves that appear to be entering similar phases of weakness.

From Science Daily

Dr. Abram added that other critical systems may soon reach a point of no return, including the ice shelves that hold back parts of the Antarctic ice sheet.

From Science Daily

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023