ice age
"ice-age" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“ice age” is outside the top-ranked English vocabulary, used as a noun - the kind of word writers most often double-check.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 7
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A period of long-term reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence of major polar ice sheets that reach the ocean and calve icebergs.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | ice age |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| Letters | 7 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “ice age” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for ice age is 7 letters long, classified as a noun. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
No misspelling variants are generated for ice age in our index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. Our dataset records no confusable match here, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.
Etymologically, the entry records: Perhaps a calque of German Eiszeit. The correct English form is ice age, spelled I-C-E- -A-G-E.
Definition
- 1A period of long-term reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence of major polar ice sheets that reach the ocean and calve icebergs.
- 2Any of several glacial periods (within a scientific ice age) marked by episodes of extensive glaciation alternating with episodes of relative warmth (interglacial).
Etymology
Perhaps a calque of German Eiszeit.
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “ice age”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is I-C-E- -A-G-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.