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snow fence
noun
: a usually slatted fence placed across the path of prevailing winds to protect something (such as a building, road, or railroad track) from drifting snow by disrupting the flow of wind and causing the snow to be deposited on the lee side of the fence
Examples of snow fence in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Under her dedicated leadership, the Blackfeet have built snow fences to preserve snow on the Montana grasslands just below the mountains, a moisture-saving technique.
—CBS News, 15 May 2024
Natural Snow Fence Piggybacking off the benefit of reducing water runoff, plants left standing act as a snow fence to reduce drifting across sidewalks, roads, and driveways.
—Benjamin Vogt, Better Homes & Gardens, 13 Oct. 2023
On this bright, cold day in interior Alaska, five scientists and I are digging out tons of snow along the fourth of six snow fences positioned on a gradual hill on the tundra, hauling it away on sleds.
—Ted Schuur, Scientific American, 1 Dec. 2016
The school was planning to build a snow fence.
—Emily Witt, The New Yorker, 21 Nov. 2022
The young men and a couple of parents took that snow fence, brought over for use by the city service department, and had it up in no time.
—Sam Boyer, cleveland, 26 Sep. 2021
But the ball found a gap under the snow fence in left field for a ground-rule double.
—BostonGlobe.com, 5 June 2021
Throughout the 6,272-square-foot home are concrete columns with wooden snow fence—a type of fencing often set up in Colorado fields—to bring a layered, textured stone look to the interior.
—Emily Nonko, WSJ, 29 Jan. 2020
While the open sites warmed about 1°C over the five years of the study, the sites with snow fences were almost 1°C warmer than that.
—Scott K. Johnson, Ars Technica, 3 July 2019
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Word History
First Known Use
1872, in the meaning defined above
Dictionary Entries Near snow fence
Cite this Entry
“Snow fence.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/snow%20fence. Accessed 22 Dec. 2024.
Kids Definition
snow fence
noun
: a fence placed across the usual path of the wind to protect something (as a road) from snowdrifts
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