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icebreaker

American  
[ahys-brey-ker] / ˈaɪsˌbreɪ kər /

noun

  1. Nautical. a ship specially built for breaking navigable passages through ice.

  2. an opening remark, action, etc., designed to ease tension or relieve formality.

    A mild joke can be a good icebreaker.

  3. a tool or machine for chopping ice into small pieces.

icebreaker British  
/ ˈaɪsˌbreɪkə /

noun

  1. Also called: iceboat.  a vessel with a reinforced bow for breaking up the ice in bodies of water to keep channels open for navigation

  2. any tool or device for breaking ice into smaller pieces

  3. something intended to relieve mutual shyness at a gathering of strangers

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of icebreaker

An Americanism dating back to 1810–20; ice + breaker 1

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.