Definition of glacier Glacier

/glejˈʃɚ/ - [gleysher] - glac•i•er

We found 7 definitions of glacier from 7 different sources.

What does glacier mean?

WordNet

Noun Plural: glaciers
glacier - a slowly moving mass of ice
		ice mass a large mass of ice
		alpine glacier, alpine type of glacier a glacier that moves down from a high valley
		continental glacier a glacier that spreads out from a central mass of ice
		icefall a steep part of a glacier resembling a frozen waterfall
		moraine accumulated earth and stones deposited by a glacier
		neve the upper part of a glacier (beyond the limit of perpetual snow) where the snow turns to ice
		piedmont glacier, piedmont type of glacier a type of glaciation characteristic of Alaska; large valley glaciers meet to form an almost stagnant sheet of ice

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Wiktionary

glacier (Noun)
A large body of ice which flows under its own mass, usually downhill.

Webster DictionaryWebster's Unabridged Dictionary 📘

glacier (n.)
An immense field or stream of ice, formed in the region of perpetual snow, and moving slowly down a mountain slope or valley, as in the Alps, or over an extended area, as in Greenland.

OmegaWiki DictionaryOmegaWiki Dictionary Ω

glacier
Slow moving masses of ice which have accumulated either on mountains or in polar regions.

Chambers DictionaryChamber's 20th Century Dictionary 📕

glacier
glā′shēr, or glas′i-ėr, n. a field or, more properly, a slowly moving river of ice, such as is found in the hollows and on the slopes of lofty mountains. [Fr.,—glace, ice—L. glacies, ice.]

Wikipedia

A glacier is a large body of ice and snow. It is formed on land, and moves because of gravity. A glacier forms because in a particular spot, the snow and ice does not all melt in summer. The next winter, more ice and snow are added to the deposit. After many years of this happening, the glacier will start growing very big. This can take a long time, normally hundreds or thousands of years. Glaciers will only form in places that are cold enough and get enough snow over time.

There are two kinds of glaciers: continental glaciers and alpine, or mountain, glaciers. Continental glaciers are glaciers that spread out over a lot of land. They showed up mostly during the Ice Ages a long time ago, but there are still some continental glaciers in Greenland and Antarctica. Alpine glaciers are smaller than continental glaciers and form in mountain areas.

Glaciers are very important because they affect the environment a lot. They do this because they are very big and heavy, so they erode mountains and land when they move and scratch the rock they sit on. Also, since they froze long ago, stuff stuck inside is kept in good condition for scientists to look at. Nowadays, glaciers have been melting more than they used to because the climate is changing and global warming is happening.

Glaciers are the largest deposits of fresh water on Earth. The largest bodies of water whatsoever are the oceans.

Glaciers appear blue in color because water (including the frozen water that makes up glaciers) is