freezing rain
noun
: rain that freezes upon contact with a surface (such as the ground)
But to Healy's surprise, a glaze of freezing rain began to appear on the windshield.—
Jon Vara
Jon VaraThis also explains why the stuff we call freezing rain … falls as a liquid but then turns to a sheet of ice when it strikes the pavement or a tree branch.—Frederick K. Lutgens et al.
compare hail entry 1, sleet entry 1, snow entry 1
Frederick K. Lutgens et al.Examples of freezing rain in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The wintry mix of precipitation including snow, sleet and freezing rain has wrapped up in almost all of the Southeast region, National Weather Service meteorologist Frank Pereira told USA TODAY on Wednesday.
—Jeanine Santucci, USA TODAY, 22 Jan. 2025
Snow, sleet, and freezing rain are forecasted for North Florida, particularly in counties along the Interstate 10 corridor.
—Hannah Parry, Newsweek, 22 Jan. 2025
Snow, and an icy mix of snow, sleet and freezing rain, expanded in the early hours of Tuesday and ramped up throughout the morning.
—Karina Tsui, CNN, 21 Jan. 2025
Heavy snow, sleet and freezing rain are expected around the Deep South as a blast of Arctic air plunges much of the Midwest and the eastern U.S. into a deep freeze.
—Gerald Herbert and David J. Phillip, Los Angeles Times, 21 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for freezing rain 
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Jeanine Santucci, USA TODAY, 22 Jan. 2025
Snow, sleet, and freezing rain are forecasted for North Florida, particularly in counties along the Interstate 10 corridor.
—Hannah Parry, Newsweek, 22 Jan. 2025
Snow, and an icy mix of snow, sleet and freezing rain, expanded in the early hours of Tuesday and ramped up throughout the morning.
—Karina Tsui, CNN, 21 Jan. 2025
Heavy snow, sleet and freezing rain are expected around the Deep South as a blast of Arctic air plunges much of the Midwest and the eastern U.S. into a deep freeze.
—Gerald Herbert and David J. Phillip, Los Angeles Times, 21 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for freezing rain
Dictionary Entries Near freezing rain
Cite this Entry
“Freezing rain.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/freezing%20rain. Accessed 1 Feb. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share