Meanings
plural igloos
- biologyA cavity, or excavation, made in the snow by a seal, over its breathing hole in the sea ice.
- governmentA reinforced bunker for the storage of nuclear weapons.
General James Walsh signalled Strategic Air Command that the B-47 tore apart the igloo and knocked about 3 mark sixes.
2011, Robert Hutchinson, Weapons of Mass Destruction - logisticsA kind of airfreight cargo container.
Since most major airlines have interline agreements, if your cargo is in an igloo or container, it can be moved as is […]
1978, Made in Mexico
Synonyms & antonyms
nounan Eskimo hut; usually built of blocks (of sod or snow) in the shape of a dome
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Proto-Eskimo*əŋlu
- Proto-Inuit*əɣlu
- Inuktitutᐃᒡᓗ“house, building (of any kind)”
- Englishigloo
From Inuktitut ᐃᒡᓗ (iclo, “house, building (of any kind)”), from Proto-Inuit *əɣlu, from Proto-Eskimo *əŋlu.
More words from Inuktitut, Proto-Inuit, Proto-Eskimo
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic مَبْنًى قَبَّانِي, مَبْنًى اَلقَبَّانِي
- مَبْنًى قَبَّانِي (mabnan qabbānī)Inuit snow house
- مَبْنًى اَلقَبَّانِي (mabnan al-qabbānī)Inuit snow house
Bulgarian иглу
- иглу (iglu)Inuit snow house
Catalan iglú
- iglúInuit snow house
Chinese Cantonese 冰屋, 雪屋
- 冰屋 (bing¹ uk¹)Inuit snow house
- 雪屋 (syut³ uk¹)Inuit snow house
Chinese Mandarin 冰屋
- 冰屋 (bīngwū)Inuit snow house
Czech iglú
- iglúInuit snow house
Danish iglo
- igloInuit snow house
Dutch iglo
- igloInuit snow house
Esperanto iglo
- igloInuit snow house
Finnish iglu
- igluInuit snow house
French igloo, iglou
- iglooInuit snow house
- iglouInuit snow house
German Iglu, Schneehaus
- IgluInuit snow house
- SchneehausInuit snow house
- SchneehütteInuit snow house
Greek ιγκλού
- ιγκλού (igkloú)Inuit snow house
Hebrew איגלו
- איגלו (íglu)Inuit snow house
Hindi इग्लू, इगलू
- इग्लू (iglū)Inuit snow house
- इगलू (iglū)Inuit snow house
Hungarian iglu
- igluInuit snow house
Icelandic snjóhús
- snjóhúsInuit snow house
Indonesian iglo, igloo
- igloInuit snow house
- iglooInuit snow house
- igluInuit snow house
Irish íoglú
- íoglúInuit snow house
Italian iglù
- iglùInuit snow house
Japanese イグルー
- イグルー (igurū)Inuit snow house
Korean 이글루
- 이글루 (igeullu)Inuit snow house
Malay iglu
- igluInuit snow house
Polish igloo, iglu
- iglooInuit snow house
- igluInuit snow house
Portuguese iglu
- igluInuit snow house
Russian и́глу
- и́глу (íglu)Inuit snow house
Scottish Gaelic taigh-sneachda
- taigh-sneachdaInuit snow house
Spanish iglú
- iglúInuit snow house
Swedish snöhydda, igloo
- snöhyddaInuit snow house
- iglooInuit snow house
Tagalog iglu
- igluInuit snow house
Tamil இக்லூ
- இக்லூ (iklū)Inuit snow house
Thai อิกลู
- อิกลู (ìk-luu)Inuit snow house
Turkish iglo, iglu
- igloInuit snow house
- igluInuit snow house
Vietnamese lều tuyết, nhà tuyết
- lều tuyếtInuit snow house
- nhà tuyếtInuit snow house
Welsh tŷ rhew, tŷ iâ
- tŷ rhewInuit snow house
- tŷ iâInuit snow house
- iglwInuit snow house
Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
igloo. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/igloo
“igloo.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/igloo. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “igloo,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/igloo.
Source: igloo on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.