ice crystals
Americanplural noun
Etymology
Origin of ice crystals
First recorded in 1840–50
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.
Traces of water or humidity freeze into ice crystals that can scratch pumps and create blockages.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 27, 2025
Light from the Moon passes through the ice crystals where it bends and reflects creating the ring effect.
From BBC • Dec. 5, 2025
While natural ice crystals in clouds are much larger than the silica particles used in the lab, the team hopes that understanding these small-scale effects will reveal the larger processes that create lightning.
From Science Daily • Nov. 24, 2025
The bright yellow compound is known to latch onto water droplets that are already present in clouds, converting them into ice crystals that can fall as rain or snow, depending on the temperature below.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 21, 2025
Thrust high into the jet stream, the mountain ripped a visible gash in the 120- knot hurricane, sending forth a plume of ice crystals that trailed to the east like a long silk scarf.
From "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
