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sleet

/slit/

/slit/

Other forms: sleeting; sleeted; sleets

Frozen rain, or melty snow, is called sleet. Walking in the snow can be lovely, but walking in sleet is just cold and unpleasant.

Sleet is a type of precipitation, and it's also a verb: "Is it starting to sleet out there? Let's stay in and watch TV tonight." In the U.S., sleet is the name for small ice pellets—if you've ever heard the weather person talk about a "wintry mix," it usually includes sleet along with snow and freezing rain. The word dates from the very early 14th century, from a Germanic root.

Definitions of sleet
  1. noun
    partially melted snow (or a mixture of rain and snow)
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    type of:
    downfall, precipitation
    the falling to earth of any form of water (rain or snow or hail or sleet or mist)
  2. verb
    precipitate as a mixture of rain and snow
    “If the temperature rises above freezing, it will probably sleet
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    type of:
    come down, fall, precipitate
    fall from clouds
Pronunciation
US

/slit/

UK

/slit/

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