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Glite Dictionary
🚜 A snow vehicle 🚜 To smooth snow
snowcat

snowcat

2 5.1
A vehicle with tracks that travels over deep snow
  • noun
  • /ˈsnoʊˌkæt/
  • UK
translation icon : pista de nieve
  • During the winter festival, visitors can enjoy rides on a snowcat through the picturesque landscape.
  • snowcat skiing
  • snowcat ride
  • snowcat tour

Examples

  • Basically the Snowcat operates very much like a car.

    The Shining (1980)

  • The snowcat ascended the mountain effortlessly, navigating through deep snow and uneven terrain.

  • We took a snowcat to reach the remote ski lodge after the heavy snowfall had blocked the roads.

How Suitable

snowcat
  • UK
2 5.1
snowmobile
  • UK
25 3.7

Surface Forms

snowcat singular
snowcats plural

Morphology

snowcat = snow + cat (semi-transparent) = snow + cat

Formally a compound 'snow' + 'cat' yields 'a vehicle for snow', but the element 'cat' meaning a tracked vehicle is informal or opaque to many learners.

Etymology

Snowcat is a simple compound of snow and cat. The 'cat' part refers to heavy machines with wide tracks, like the brand Caterpillar, so a snowcat is a tracked vehicle made to move over snow.