Skip to main content
to ice

to ice

5 2.7
To put sweet topping on a cake to decorate it
  • verb
  • /aɪs/
translation icon : glasear
  • Vlog is currently uploading, so it is time to ice and decorate the cake.
  • ice the cake
  • ice the cookies
  • ice the cupcakes

You get your palette knife, you put your cake on it, and instead of trying to go around like this, you can spin it while you ice it.

Autoplay Next

Examples

  • Eli, you want to help us ice the cake?

  • Jittery-fingered, Sarah iced his cake thickly to hide its nut-riddled surface and stabbed it with 52 candles.

    Fiction book (2000)
  • Just go ahead and ice it on there as much as you choose.

  • -What am I gonna ice the cake with ?

  • I completely forgot how fun it was to ice them any way you wanted.

    Blog text (29)
  • This should make plenty to ice all the rolls if you go ahead and make them all.

    Blog text (8)
  • Now we're going to put on some strawberry icing to ice this baby up, and then that's it.

  • Gertie iced the honey heart with pink frosting.

    Fiction book (2001)
  • I iced ours with a thinned-down version of my Brown Sugar and Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting.

    Blog text (8)
  • Can you help me ice this cake with chocolate frosting?

Synonyms

to frost
vsto ice
11 2.2

To put sweet icing on a cake or cupcake

is identical in meaning but uses a different word form

Idioms

21 4.9

Put off until later

on thin ice
  • Informal
20 6.2

In danger of getting into trouble for something you did

cold as ice
  • Informal
4 7.2

Not showing any feeling or kindness to others

1 6.8

To take a risk that can get you in trouble

Stay alert and ready to move, like resting a hockey stick on the ice

To move clumsily and unsteadily, like a new skater

stink on ice
  • Informal
9.9

A complete failure that goes very wrong

to stunk on ice
  • Informal
9.9

To be very poor and disappointing

Phrasal Verbs

11 5.8

To delay a plan or project for a while

2 3.4

Get covered in ice, for example a pond or window

To delay something and keep it for later use

1 4.3

To form a layer of ice on something, making it slippery

Add ice cubes to a drink to make it cold

To mix and freeze a sweet creamy mixture by stirring it without stopping

4.1

Say or do something that makes people feel less nervous and start talking

Compounds

403 1.0

A cold sweet treat made from milk or cream in different flavors

34 1.0

A small square piece of frozen water used to cool drinks

34 1.0

Very cold, like frozen water

24 3.4

A long time when much of Earth is covered by ice and very cold

22 1.0

Moving on ice while wearing boots with metal blades

20 3.5

A metal tool with a sharp point that you use to break blocks of ice

ice tea
  • US
20 1.3

A cold drink of tea poured over ice, often with lemon or sugar

19 3.4

A thick layer of ice and snow that always covers large land areas like the poles or mountain tops

dry ice
  • Specialized
19 3.9

A very cold solid made from carbon dioxide used to keep things frozen and make white fog

19 1.0

Very cold water with ice cubes

A baked cone-shaped wafer that holds ice cream

15 1.8

A cold bag used on the body to reduce swelling, pain, or fever

A sweet frozen dessert made from milk and cream with vanilla flavor

10 2.3

A team sport on ice where players use sticks to hit a puck into the other team's goal

10 2.0

An area with a floor of ice for skating or hockey

9 2.9

A storm in which freezing rain covers roads and trees with ice

A dessert of ice cream with sweet toppings like syrup or fruit

7 2.0

A device that makes and gives ice cubes

A cold creamy dessert made with chocolate

A dessert of ice cream shaped like a cake and decorated for parties

5 1.7

A portable box that keeps food and drinks cold with ice

5 5.0

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

5 1.0

A container that holds ice to keep drinks cold

4 5.7

A thin layer of ice on roads or sidewalks that is hard to see

4 2.4

A person who moves on ice wearing shoes with metal blades for sport or fun

A place with smooth ice where people skate or play hockey

4 2.8

A small piece of frozen water that forms in clouds, snow, or frost

4 4.1

A thick, flat piece of ice floating where a glacier reaches the sea

A cold sweet dessert made from milk and strawberries, often with small fruit pieces

ice queen
  • Offensive
3 8.5

A woman who seems cold and not open about her feelings

3 3.1

A performance with skaters doing routines on ice to music

A cold drink with ice cream floating in sweet fizzy soda

3 1.0

A boot with a metal blade that lets you move on ice

3 4.7

A large flat area of floating ice on the sea

3 1.9

A machine in a fridge or a separate appliance that makes ice cubes by itself

ice ax
  • Specialized
2 6.8

A tool with a sharp point and flat blade that cuts steps in ice and helps climbers stay safe

2 1.8

A waterproof bag filled with ice that you put on your body to cool it and reduce swelling

ice melt
  • Specialized
2 3.5

Ice changing into water in large areas like glaciers and sea ice

pack ice
  • Specialized
2 6.7

A large area of floating ice pushed together by wind and sea

ice mass
  • Specialized
1 3.3

A large area of ice that forms part of a glacier or ice sheet

1 4.1

A large area of floating ice pressed together in polar seas

A cold drink with ice cream floating in soda

A cold sweet food made with peaches or peach flavor

ground ice
  • Specialized
1 7.2

Frozen water below the ground that forms when water in soil freezes in very cold places

ice fog
  • UK
1 7.3

A thick mist of tiny ice crystals that makes it hard to see in very cold weather

ice cool
  • Informal
1 6.2

Very calm and not nervous in a difficult situation

ice maiden
  • Offensive
1 8.8

A woman who seems cold and shows little feeling

1 3.4

A salt or liquid used to make ice become water on roads and sidewalks

ice milk
  • Archaic
1 3.1

A frozen dessert made from milk like ice cream but with less fat

1 7.0

A low plant with thick leaves that look covered in tiny shiny hairs like ice

ice tongs
  • Archaic
1 5.6

A tool with two long arms used to hold and lift blocks of ice

ice wagon
  • Archaic
1 9.9

A wagon pulled by horses that carried blocks of ice to houses

A thin, crisp shell you hold to eat ice cream

Ice cream with three or more side-by-side layers of different flavors like vanilla, chocolate and strawberry

1 2.6

A frozen sweet made from fruit juice and sugar without milk, with a soft texture

camphor ice
  • Archaic
8.5

A cream made from camphor and oils that soothes sore or dry skin

A cold creamy dessert with small pieces of chocolate

7.1

A bar of vanilla ice cream covered in chocolate

6.0

Large pieces of ice that float on the open sea

An area of ice with lines and goals where people play ice hockey

2.0

A sweet frozen treat on a small stick like a popsicle

2.3

A large white bear that lives in the Arctic and hunts seals

Coffee that is served cold with ice, often with milk or cream

3.4

A material that melts ice on paths and driveways

ice seller
  • Archaic
6.0

A person who cuts blocks of ice and delivers them to people

ice needle
  • Specialized
6.7

A thin pointed piece of ice that grows from cold surfaces

ice-calm
  • Informal
7.9

Being very calm and not showing fear in a stressful situation

7.1

A place where ice blocks the way so people or vehicles cannot move through

ice yacht
  • Specialized
7.9

A small sailboat with skate blades that moves across ice

A tropical evergreen tree with long pods of soft white pulp you can eat

A person who skates on ice with a stick to score goals

A flat area of ice with lines and goals where players play hockey

ice-wagon
  • Archaic
9.9

A wagon pulled by horses that delivered blocks of ice to houses

How Covered

to ice
5 2.7
to dust
54 2.5

Surface Forms

ice infinitive
iced past
iced past participle
icing present participle
ices third person singular

Etymology

To ice a cake (as a verb) comes from the noun ice for the smooth topping, so to ice is to 'cover' a baked good with a sweet layer. This keeps the same idea of making a surface smooth and shiny.