Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com

ice-free

American  
[ahys-free, -free] / ˈaɪsˈfri, -ˌfri /

adjective

  1. free of ice.

  2. (of a harbor or other body of water) free at all times of the year of any ice that would impede navigation.


Etymology

Origin of ice-free

First recorded in 1890–95; ice + -free

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.

Recruiters also touted business friendly regulation, an ice-free port deep inland as well as an aerospace industry and other big aluminum consumers.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 12, 2026

Noting that its waters are ice-free thanks to the Gulf Stream, the Norwegian consultancy Rystad Energy has, for example, suggested excluding the Barents Sea from the EU's definition of the Arctic.

From Barron's • Mar. 14, 2026

“It means that when these glaciers die off, we will be the first humans to see ice-free peaks in Yosemite,” said Andrew Jones, a researcher at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, who led the study.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 1, 2025

The decline is tied to the amount of time the bay is now ice-free, a period that is getting longer as the climate warms.

From BBC • Dec. 17, 2024

Imagine, Martin said, that an original group of a hundred hunters crossed over Beringia and down the ice-free corridor.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann