ice needles

plural noun

, Meteorology.

1. ice crystals.

Word History and Origins

Origin of ice needles¹

First recorded in 1925–30

Example Sentences

As ice needles freeze, they nudge small rocks to one side or another.

From Scientific American

Pine needles grow their own ice needles, turning into rimed maces.

From Scientific American

This is because ice needles have formed, pushing the soil upwards, and the pressure of a footstep crushes them down again.

From The Guardian

It is supplied by thawing ice needles and gravity.

From Scientific American

The punt followed the canals, cut at right angles; progress was slow, impeded by ice needles, that formed by the cold clustered on the sedges of the bank.

From Project Gutenberg