ICE

See also: Appendix:Variations of "ice"

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /aɪs/
• IPA^(key): /aɪ siː iː/

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

Proper noun

ICE

1. (sports) Abbreviation of Iceland.
2. Initialism of Institution of Civil Engineers.
3. (government, US) Acronym of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“law-enforcement agency responsible for immigration and customs matters of the United States Federal government”).

   Alternative forms: Ice, (internet slang) 🧊

   • 2018 May 22, Liz Robbins, Maya Salam, “‘I Am Not Racist’: Lawyer Issues Apology One Week After Rant”, in The New York Times‎, archived from the original on 11 April 2023:

     Mr. Schlossberg’s rant angered activists for immigrant rights, who said it reinforced stereotypes that Spanish speakers are not citizens. And they worried that it perpetuated fear within immigrant communities of ICE’s aggressive tactics to deport those who are undocumented.

   • 2025 January 26, Priscilla Alvarez and Rosa Flores, “Trump administration launches nationwide immigration enforcement blitz”, in CNN‎, archived from the original on 27 January 2025:

     ICE agents were joined Sunday by officials from multiple Justice Department agencies as they targeted what they said are public safety and national security threats.

4. (rail transport) Initialism of Intercity-Express (“German high speed train”).

Translations

Immigration and Customs Enforcement

Spanish: ICE m

Noun

ICE (plural ICEs)

1. (automotive) Acronym of internal combustion engine.

   Coordinate term: EV

   • 2017 May 18, James Foxall, “Electric car drivers face queues and quarrels”, in The Daily Telegraph‎, archived from the original on 2 August 2025:

     “ICE-ing is EV owner-speak for when an internal combustion engine (ICE) car blocks or parks in a charging point space. On EV internet forums, stories of drivers being ICEd abound. But rather than scuffles breaking out, if stories are to be believed, British EV drivers resort to leaving notes and icy stares when the offending ICE driver returns.

   • 2025 October 11, Paul Jacobson, quotee, “Carmakers steer back towards more lucrative petrol vehicles”, in FT Weekend, Companies & Markets, page 10:

     “The ICE tail is now fatter and longer than anybody ever thought it was going to be,” GM's chief financial officer Paul Jacobson said at a recent conference, even as the company continued to invest in new EVs. […] Ford last year posted a $5bn operative loss on its EV business but made $5.3bn from its ICE division.

2. (programming) Initialism of internal compiler error.
3. (computing) Initialism of in-circuit emulator/emulation.
4. (automotive) Initialism of in-car entertainment.

   Synonym: IVI

5. Initialism of International Cultural Exchange.
6. (medicine) Initialism of ice, compress, elevation (first-aid).
7. Initialism of intercontinental exchange.
   • 2011 January 20, Nathanial Gronewold and John J. Fialka, “European Commission Halts Transfers of Carbon Emissions Allowances Until Thefts Are Sorted Out”, in The New York Times‎, archived from the original on 11 June 2024:

     But ICE says futures trading in a variety of carbon-linked financial instruments -- where the bulk of trading activity occurs -- would continue apace. That includes trading in futures and options contracts for EUAs and the carbon offsets credits issued by U.N. organizations, the Certified Emission Reduction futures and options and Emission Reduction Unit futures.

Phrase

ICE

2. Initialism of in case of emergency, used in mobile phones followed by the number to call if the phone’s owner is injured.

Verb

ICE (third-person singular simple present ICEs, present participle ICEing, simple past and past participle ICEd)

1. (automotive, slang) To occupy a reserved electric car parking space (especially one equipped with a charger) with a traditional car equipped with an internal combustion engine.
   • 2017 May 18, James Foxall, “Electric car drivers face queues and quarrels”, in The Daily Telegraph‎, archived from the original on 2 August 2025:

     “We do get charge rage if someone ICEs your bay. And people don’t like it if someone parks a Tesla to charge for two hours. When your car has finished charging, our message is: move it.”
     ICE-ing is EV owner-speak for when an internal combustion engine (ICE) car blocks or parks in a charging point space. On EV internet forums, stories of drivers being ICEd abound.

   • 2020 April 29, Graeme Paton, “Too many electric car charging spaces being blocked”, in The Times‎, archived from the original on 4 October 2021:

     Clearer signs for electric vehicle charge points are needed to prevent drivers of petrol and diesel cars blocking access, the government has been told. […] It was claimed that the blocking of charge points by internal combustion engine cars — known as spaces being “iced” out — was a serious problem.

2. (slang, neologism, transitive, uncommon) To apprehend or deport by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Adjective

ICE (comparative more ICE, superlative most ICE)

1. Initialism of isolated, confined, extreme.
   • 2024 June 20, Eva Corlett, “Fidlets, fingies and riding a doo: study sheds light on Antarctic English slang”, in The Guardian‎:

     Antarctica, like outer-space, is known as an ICE environment – isolated, confined and extreme – meaning unlike other isolated communities, the rate of change for its vocabulary can be slower.

See also

• ICE box
• ICE chart
• ICE table

Anagrams

• CEI, EIC, IEC

German

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /iːtseːˈʔeː/

Noun

ICE m (strong, genitive ICEs or ICE, plural ICEs or ICE)

1. (rail transport) initialism of Intercity-Express

   Coordinate term: ECE

Spanish

Spanish Wikipedia has an article on:

ICE

Wikipedia ^es

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈais/ [ˈai̯s]
• Rhymes: -ais
• Syllabification: ICE

Etymology 1

Proper noun

ICE m

1. initialism of Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (“Costa Rican Electricity Institute”).
2. initialism of Instituto de Ciencias del Espacio (“Institute of Space Sciences”).

Proper noun

ICE f

1. initialism of Izquierda Comunista de España (“Communist Left of Spain”).

Etymology 2

Borrowed from English ICE (“Immigration and Customs Enforcement”).

Proper noun

ICE m

1. Servicio de Inmigración y Control de Aduanas de Estados Unidos; ICE.
   • 2025 June 20, Randi Kaye and David von Blohn, “El ICE renueva acuerdo con el centro de detención que, según la agencia, no cumplía las normas”, in CNN en Español‎, archived from the original on 24 June 2025:

     El ICE añadió que la pausa también se debía a “las persistentes preocupaciones relacionadas con la prestación de atención médica a los detenidos”.

     ICE added that the pause was also due to "persistent concerns related to the provision of medical care to detainees."