floe

F4L1O1E1
UK/fləʊ/US/floʊ/

noun

A low, flat mass of floating ice.

Similar
ice floe
OriginNorwegian Nynorsk flo ← Old Norse fló →
UncommonScrabble 7
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Meanings

nounfloe (plural floes)

plural floes

  1. A low, flat mass of floating ice.

    We could never pause when hauling through current-driven slush and ice for fear that the floes would slam together and crush one or both of the hulls.

    1989 May, Jeff MacInnis, “Braving the Northwest Passage”, in National Geographic, volume 175, number 5, pages 590-591

    Synonyms: ice floe

Synonyms & antonyms

nounA low, flat mass of floating ice.

Similar
ice floe

More synonyms by meaning

nouna flat mass of ice (smaller than an ice field) floating at sea

Similar
ice floe
Broader
ice mass
Also see
ice floe

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Old Norsefló“layer”
  2. Norwegian Nynorskflo“layer, slab”
  3. Englishfloe

Early 19th century. Probably from Norwegian Nynorsk flo (“layer, slab”), from Old Norse fló (“layer”).

More words from Norwegian Nynorsk, Old Norse

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Catalan banquisa
  • banquisaa low, flat mass of floating ice
Chinese Mandarin 浮冰, 凘
  • 浮冰 (fúbīng)a low, flat mass of floating ice
  • 凘 (sī)a low, flat mass of floating ice
Czech kra
  • kraa low, flat mass of floating ice
Danish isflage
  • isflagea low, flat mass of floating ice
Dutch ijsschots
  • ijsschotsa low, flat mass of floating ice
Finnish jäälautta
  • jäälauttaa low, flat mass of floating ice
French banquise
  • banquisea low, flat mass of floating ice
German Eisscholle, Scholle
  • Eisschollea low, flat mass of floating ice
  • Schollea low, flat mass of floating ice
  • Packeisa low, flat mass of floating ice
Hungarian úszó/zajló jégtábla
  • úszó/zajló jégtáblaa low, flat mass of floating ice
Icelandic ísjaki
  • ísjakia low, flat mass of floating ice
Indonesian apungan es
  • apungan esa low, flat mass of floating ice
Italian banchisa, lastrone
  • banchisaa low, flat mass of floating ice
  • lastronea low, flat mass of floating ice
  • bancoa low, flat mass of floating ice
Japanese 浮氷, 氷塊
  • 浮氷 (fuhyō)a low, flat mass of floating ice
  • 氷塊 (hyōkai)a low, flat mass of floating ice
Korean 부빙
  • 부빙 (bubing)a low, flat mass of floating ice
Norwegian Bokmål flak, isflak
  • flaka low, flat mass of floating ice
  • isflaka low, flat mass of floating ice
Polish kra
  • kraa low, flat mass of floating ice
Portuguese banquisa
  • banquisaa low, flat mass of floating ice
Romanian banchiză, sloi
  • banchizăa low, flat mass of floating ice
  • sloia low, flat mass of floating ice
Russian льди́на
  • льди́на (lʹdína)a low, flat mass of floating ice
Scottish Gaelic leac-eighre
  • leac-eighrea low, flat mass of floating ice
Slovak kryha
  • kryhaa low, flat mass of floating ice
Spanish hielo marino, banquisa
  • hielo marinoa low, flat mass of floating ice
  • banquisaa low, flat mass of floating ice
  • témpanoa low, flat mass of floating ice
Swedish isflak
  • isflaka low, flat mass of floating ice
Ukrainian крижи́на, кри́га
  • крижи́на (kryžýna)a low, flat mass of floating ice
  • кри́га (krýha)a low, flat mass of floating ice
  • льоди́на (lʹodýna)a low, flat mass of floating ice
Vietnamese băng trôi
  • băng trôia low, flat mass of floating ice
Yiddish קריע
  • קריע (krie)a low, flat mass of floating ice

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with floe

todonosogoknowshowolowbelowcoproagothoughohalthoughflowpojoemosnowhellorowgrow
All rhymes →

Sounds the same

flowFlo

Anagrams

lofe
Cite this entry
APA

floe. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/floe

MLA

“floe.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/floe. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “floe,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/floe.

Source: floe on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.