sleet
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
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partially melted snow (or a mixture of rain and snow)
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type of:
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downfall, precipitation
the falling to earth of any form of water (rain or snow or hail or sleet or mist)
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downfall, precipitation
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precipitate as a mixture of rain and snow“If the temperature rises above freezing, it will probably sleet”
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type of:
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come down, fall, precipitate
fall from clouds
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come down, fall, precipitate
DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘sleet'.
Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Vocabulary.com or its editors.
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