glacier

a mass of slowly moving land ice formed by the accumulation of snow on high ground

Not to be confused with:

glazier – a person who fits windows with glass or panes of glass

gla·cier

(glā′shər)

A huge mass of ice slowly flowing over a landmass, formed from compacted snow in an area where snow accumulation has exceeded melting and sublimation.

[French, from Old French, cold place, from glace, ice, from Vulgar Latin *glacia, from Latin glaciēs; see gel- in Indo-European roots.]

gla′ciered adj.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

glacier

(ˈɡlæsɪə; ˈɡleɪs-)

(Physical Geography) a slowly moving mass of ice originating from an accumulation of snow. It can either spread out from a central mass (continental glacier) or descend from a high valley (alpine glacier)

[C18: from French (Savoy dialect), from Old French glace ice, from Late Latin glacia, from Latin glaciēs ice]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

gla•cier

(ˈgleɪ ʃər)

n.

an extended mass of ice formed from snow falling and accumulating over the years and moving very slowly, either descending from high mountains, as in valley glaciers, or moving outward from centers of accumulation, as in continental glaciers.

[1735–45; < dial. French, derivative of Old French glace ice < Vulgar Latin *glacia]

gla′ciered, adj.

gla·cier

(glā′shər)

A large mass of ice flowing very slowly through a valley or spreading outward from a center. Glaciers form over many years from packed snow in areas where snow accumulates faster than it melts. A glacier is always moving, but when its forward edge melts faster than the ice behind it advances, the glacier as a whole shrinks backward.

The American Heritage® Student Science Dictionary, Second Edition. Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

glacier

A mass of ice that creeps down a valley, scouring its floor and sides.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun

glacier - a slowly moving mass of ice

Alpine glacier, Alpine type of glacier - a glacier that moves down from a high valley

continental glacier - a glacier that spreads out from a central mass of ice

icefall - a steep part of a glacier resembling a frozen waterfall

ice mass - a large mass of ice

moraine - accumulated earth and stones deposited by a glacier

Piedmont glacier, Piedmont type of glacier - a type of glaciation characteristic of Alaska; large valley glaciers meet to form an almost stagnant sheet of ice

ice, water ice - water frozen in the solid state; "Americans like ice in their drinks"

Translations

كُتلة جليديَّهنَهْرٌ جَليدِيّ

ledovec

gletschergletsjerjøkelbræ

Gletscher Kees Ferner

παγετώνας

glaciar

liustik

jäätikkö

glacier

ledenjakglečer

gleccser

jökull

ghiacciaio glaciale glaciazione

氷河

빙하

ledynas

šļūdonis

ledenik

glaciär

ธารน้ำแข็ง

buzul

khối băng trôi

冰川冰河

glacier

[ˈglæsɪəʳ] N → glaciar m

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

glacier

[ˈglæsiə^r ˈgleɪsiə^r] n → glacier m

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

glacier

n → Gletscher m

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

glacier

[ˈglæsɪəʳ] n → ghiacciaio

glacier

(ˈglӕsiə) , ((American) ˈgleiʃər) noun

a mass of ice, formed from the snow on mountains.

glacier

→ نَهْرٌ جَليدِيّ ledovec gletscher Gletscher παγετώνας glaciar jäätikkö glacier ledenjak ghiacciaio 氷河 빙하 gletsjer isbre lodowiec geleira, glaciar ледник glaciär ธารน้ำแข็ง buzul khối băng trôi 冰河

Mentioned in

References in periodicals archive

Velocity fluctuations of an Arctic valley glacier: A study of the White Glacier, Axel Heiberg Island, Canadian Arctic Archipelago.

Half a century of measurements of glaciers on Axel Heiberg Island, Nunavut, Canada

A valley glacier forms high up on a mountainside that overlooks a valley.

Mega melt: get set for Ice Age 2: The Meltdown with our science-guide to glaciers

That's only a little thicker than the rubble covering the Beacon Valley glacier in Antarctica, Head points out.

Patterns from nowhere: natural forces bring order to untouched ground

I closed my eyes to better visualize the scene as he read from his book the awesome and frightening events on glacial Lake Schoharie below: "The tall wall of ice that makes up the front of the Schoharie Valley glacier towers above the thin cover of ice on the lake.

The Catskills in the Ice Age

The first is the valley glacier, which moves downhill between mountains.

Alaska's rivers of ice

This was the first time that the method had been applied to a valley glacier (Bull and Hardy, 1956).

Colin Bruce Bradley Bull (1928-2010)

The analysis reveals that during the past three decades a radical change in behavior of numerous valley glaciers have been noted.

IMPACT OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON FLOOD FACTORS AND EXTENT OF DAMAGES IN THE HINDU KUSH REGION

Isro scientists found that this main glacier had receded 4,340 metres since 1965 and had fragmented into multiple valley glaciers, resulting in the total loss of 10 per cent of glacier area.

Recession of Himalayan glaciers alarming: Isro scientists

Historical photos and descriptions show that there was certainly some sediment deposition on the Dry Valley glaciers in February 1911, but comparisons with the present are difficult as a result of scale, cloud cover and shading (Figure 4).

Taylor's Valley: What the history of Antarctica's 'heroic era' can contribute to contemporary ecological research in the McMurdo Dry Valleys