igloo

A dome-shaped Inuit shelter, constructed of blocks cut from snow.

Noun

  1. A dome-shaped Inuit shelter, constructed of blocks cut from snow.
  2. A cavity, or excavation, made in the snow by a seal, over its breathing hole in the sea ice.
  3. A reinforced bunker for the storage of nuclear weapons.
    • General James Walsh signalled Strategic Air Command that the B-47 tore apart the igloo and knocked about 3 mark sixes. - 2011, Robert Hutchinson, Weapons of Mass Destruction:
  4. A kind of airfreight cargo container.
    • Since most major airlines have interline agreements, if your cargo is in an igloo or container, it can be moved as is […] - 1978, Made in Mexico:

Origin

From Inuktitut ᐃᒡᓗ (iclo, “house, building (of any kind)”), from Proto-Inuit *ǝɣlu, from Proto-Eskimo *ǝŋlu.

Forms

igloos

Related

twigloo hogan teepee tupik wetu wickiup wigwam quinzhee snow fort

Derived

iglooless igloolike pigloo twigloo