What does icy mean?
Icy describes something extremely cold, often cold enough to freeze or become covered with ice. It is commonly used for roads, paths, winds, windows, and other surfaces affected by freezing conditions, where it conveys severity and often a warning about slippery or hazardous conditions. The word also has a figurative meaning: an icy person, expression, or manner is unfriendly, controlled, distant, or openly hostile. In this sense, icy suggests emotional coldness rather than a low temperature. The adjective is familiar in both British and American English and is often more vivid and emphatic than simply cold. The related forms icily describe how someone acts in an icy manner, while iciness names the quality of being icy, especially in its figurative sense.
adjectiveExtremely or unpleasantly cold, often with a surface covered in or made hard by ice. In figurative use, it describes a manner or atmosphere that is unfriendly, hostile, or emotionally cool.
- Extremely cold, or covered with or affected by ice.
- Unfriendly, hostile, or emotionally cool in manner.
"We waited on the icy steps until the bus finally arrived."
"The path was icy, so the hikers moved cautiously."
"Her icy reply made it clear that she was not pleased to see us."
Icy is the sharpest way to describe cold that bites: it can freeze a road or freeze the warmth of a welcome.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does icy come from?
Icy developed from the Old English noun īs, meaning “ice,” which was also the source of the modern noun ice. The adjective was formed by adding the suffix -y to the base noun, a productive pattern in English. The family includes icicle, icing, and the more recently formed abstract noun iciness, all sharing the same Germanic root associated with ice.
Related word forms
How icy is actually used
Icy is strongly emphatic. It is common in British and American English for severe cold and figurative descriptions of unfriendliness or emotional distance.
Easily confused with icy
Ice is the frozen water itself, while icy is an adjective describing something that is extremely cold or covered with ice.
Cold describes a temperature that is lower than is comfortable, whereas icy is more emphatic and often suggests a severity sufficient to freeze or glaze surfaces.