floe

[ floh ]

noun

1. Also called ice floe. a sheet of floating ice, chiefly on the surface of the sea, smaller than an ice field.
2. a detached floating portion of such a sheet.

floe

/ fləʊ /

noun

1. See ice floe

floe

/ flō /

1. A mass or sheet of floating ice.

Word History and Origins

Origin of floe¹

First recorded in 1810–20; perhaps from Norwegian flo “layer” (compare Old Norse flō “layer, level”); cognate with Old English flōh “piece, flagstone”; flaw ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of floe¹

C19: probably from Norwegian flo slab, layer, from Old Norse; see flaw ¹

Example Sentences

County Museum of Natural History diorama of a simple red room wedged between a taxidermied wolf pack in the mountains on one side and polar bears on ice floes on the other.

From Los Angeles Times

Polar bears are used to an ice-free season of about four months when they rely on fat reserves until ice reforms and they can hunt blubber-rich seals from the floes.

From New York Times

The sinking of the Endurance, months after the ship became trapped in ice, stranded Shackleton and 27 crew members on ice floes and dashed their hopes of becoming the first to cross Antarctica on foot.

From New York Times

Members of the public alerted the local authorities when they saw a man going onto an ice floe to approach the animal.

From BBC

On ice floes, mothers and pups can spread out over a larger area and the pups face fewer threats from other predators, humans, or infections that are easily spread in dense seal colonies on land.

From Science Daily

Related Words

• ice floe
• iceberg