Meaning & use
dry ice
Last updated
Meanings
noununcountabletechnical
Solid carbon dioxide, a very cold white substance that turns directly into gas and is used for cooling.
Grammar: No plural and no 'a' before it: say 'some dry ice', not 'a dry ice'.
Patterns
- use dry ice
- dry ice in something
- pack something in dry ice
The lab keeps samples frozen with dry ice.
We packed the fish in dry ice for the long trip home.
Dry ice gives off a thick white fog when you drop it in water.
noununcountable
Frozen carbon dioxide used to make stage fog or special effects.
Grammar: Still uncountable; often used with 'with' to describe the effect.
Patterns
- make fog with dry ice
- dry ice effect
The band's stage was covered in fog made with dry ice.
For the school play we created a ghostly mist using dry ice.
Common combinations
- a block of dry ice
- The delivery arrived with a block of dry ice on top.
- handle dry ice
- Wear gloves when you handle dry ice, because it can burn your skin.
- dry ice fog
- Dry ice fog rolled across the dance floor.
- pack something in dry ice
- They packed the ice cream in dry ice for shipping.
- dry ice pellets
- The machine uses dry ice pellets to clean the metal.
Word family
- ice noun
- Frozen water; dry ice is frozen carbon dioxide instead, so it does not melt into a puddle.
Commonly confused: dry ice or ice?
dry ice vs ice
Ordinary ice is frozen water and melts into liquid; dry ice is frozen carbon dioxide and turns straight into gas, so it is much colder and never wet.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'dry ice' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Dry ice' is uncountable, so it takes no article or plural, and it does not melt into water, which makes option C correct. Options An and B treat it as countable, and D describes ordinary ice, not dry ice.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “dry ice”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.