sleet
sleet Lexical Profile
sleet Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A form of wintry precipitation consisting of small, translucent ice pellets formed by frozen raindrops, or a mixture of falling rain and partially melted snow.
"Driving conditions deteriorated rapidly as heavy sleet began to coat the highway in a layer of slush and ice."
American A thin, smooth coating of glaze ice formed when freezing rain or wet snow freezes upon contact with cold surfaces such as trees, wires, or roads.
"The tree branches sagged under the heavy weight of the sleet that had accumulated overnight."
• verb
To fall as ice pellets or a mixture of rain and melting snow (used especially with impersonal "it" as the subject).
"It sleeted for several hours in the afternoon before the temperature dropped enough for snow to accumulate."
Word Nuance & Usage
In American meteorology, "sleet" specifically refers to translucent ice pellets formed when raindrops freeze before hitting the ground, whereas in British English it refers to a mixture of falling rain and melting snow.
• Rhymes for sleet
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
From Middle English "slete", likely from an unrecorded Old English word related to Middle High German "sloz" (hailstone) and Proto-Germanic "*slautjan-".