🍺 A beer jug 😠 A rough-voiced person 🧊 A small iceberg

growler

1 9.9

A small floating piece of ice that can damage ships

noun
/ˈɡraʊlər/

Specialized

: iceberg pequeño

New vocabulary terms, such as growler—the word for a small iceberg that has newly formed—are introduced as needed.
icebergs called growlers

Examples

The captain warned the passengers about the dangers of growlers lurking just below the surface.
Call up the the lookouts and tell them to keep their eyes skinned for small ice and growlers.

A Night to Remember (1958)
Special watch for small ice and growlers.

A Night to Remember (1958)
The ship's crew was alert for any growlers that might pose a risk during their journey.
As we navigated the icy waters, we spotted a few growlers floating ominously nearby.

Synonyms

iceberg

vsgrowler

57 1.7

A large piece of ice that floats in the sea after breaking off a glacier

is much smaller but still able to endanger ships

floe

vsgrowler

9 7.0

A large flat piece of ice that floats on the sea or a lake

is far smaller and only just big enough to threaten ships

ice floe

vsgrowler

5 5.0

A flat piece of frozen water that floats on the sea or large lake

is much smaller and only just large enough to endanger ships

How Big

drift ice

6.0

iceberg

57 1.7

growler

Specialized

1 9.9

bergy

9.6

Surface Forms

growler singular

growlers plural

Morphology

growler = growl (opaque) = growl + er

The nautical sense 'small iceberg' is a specialized, metaphorical naming (likely from noises or behavior) and is not derivable by a typical learner from 'growl' + '-er'.

Etymology

Growler for a small iceberg comes from the same idea: the word growl was used because these little ice pieces can make a soft, rumbling 'growl' as they move in the sea. So a growler is a small, hidden piece of ice that can be dangerous to ships.