noun · academic

glacier

UK/ˈɡlæsiə/US/ˈɡleɪsiər/GLA·cier

Band 6-7task2speaking

A large, slow-moving mass of ice formed from compacted snow in mountains or polar regions.

Examples

The retreat of the glacier is visible every summer.

Tourists visit the valley to see the glacier from the ridge.

Glaciers are important freshwater sources for many regions.

Band 8 sentence

The steady retreat of alpine glaciers over the last decades has profound implications for seasonal water supplies.

Collocations

  • glacier retreat
  • melting glaciers
  • glacier-fed rivers

Word family

glacier nounglacial adjective

Common mistakes

glaciers is retreatingglaciers are retreating

iceberg = glaciericeberg ≠ glacier

Say it for a higher band

5big ice6sheet of ice7+glacier

Synonyms

icefield

Easily confused

iceberg

An iceberg drifted past the research ship.

Related words

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In Environment & Climate

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