Meaning & use
ice skating
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Meaning
noununcountable
The activity or sport of moving over ice wearing special boots with metal blades.
Grammar: Uncountable: say 'I enjoy ice skating', not 'an ice skating' or 'ice skatings'.
Patterns
- go ice skating
- enjoy ice skating
- ice skating lessons
We went ice skating on the frozen pond last winter.
She takes ice skating lessons every Saturday morning.
Ice skating is a popular winter activity in many cold countries.
Common combinations
- go ice skating
- Let's go ice skating this weekend if the rink is open.
- ice skating rink
- The new ice skating rink opens in the town center on Friday.
- ice skating lessons
- He signed up for ice skating lessons to improve his balance.
- competitive ice skating
- She watched competitive ice skating on television.
- a pair of ice skates
- I need a new pair of ice skates before we go.
Synonyms and how they differ
- skating
- Shorter and more general; it can also mean roller skating, so use 'ice skating' when you mean on ice.
- figure skating
- A competitive form of ice skating with jumps and spins; not all ice skating is figure skating.
Word family
- ice skate noun
- One of the boots with a blade that you wear for ice skating.
- ice skater noun
- A person who ice skates.
- skate verb
- To move on ice or wheels wearing skates.
Commonly confused: ice skating or ice-skating? ice skating or roller skating?
ice skating vs ice-skating
The hyphenated form is used before a noun, as in 'an ice-skating rink'; without a hyphen it works as a noun: 'I love ice skating'.
ice skating vs roller skating
Roller skating happens on a hard surface with wheels, not on ice.
Practice
Choose the correct sentence.
Choose one answer.
'Ice skating' is an uncountable activity noun, so it takes no article and no plural: 'I like ice skating.' The other options add an article or a plural, which uncountable activity nouns do not take.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “ice skating”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.