igloo
igloo
Pronunciation
Here is a detailed breakdown of the word "igloo."
Phonetic Spelling and Syllabification
IPA Spelling: /ˈɪɡ.lu/
Syllable Breakdown:
Syllable 1: "ig" - /ˈɪɡ/
/ɪ/: The short 'i' sound, as in "sit" or "pin".
/ɡ/: The 'g' sound, as in "go" or "bag".
Syllable 2: "loo" - /lu/
/l/: The 'l' sound, as in "light" or "call".
/u/: The 'oo' sound, as in "blue" or "moon".
Word Form Variations
Singular: igloo
Plural: igloos
Possessive Singular: igloo's
Possessive Plural: igloos'
Definitions, Synonyms and Antonyms
Noun
A domed shelter constructed from blocks of hard snow, traditionally used by the Inuit people as a temporary or seasonal dwelling.
Synonyms: snow house, snow hut, snow shelter, iglu (Inuktitut)
Antonyms: (Direct antonyms are not applicable; opposites would be based on climate or material, e.g., "cabana," "tent," "log cabin.")
(Figurative) Any structure or enclosure that has a round, domed shape, particularly one that suggests coldness or isolation.
Synonyms: dome, pod, bubble, enclosure
Antonyms: (Opposite shapes) cube, box, spire
Examples of Use
Here are several real-world examples of how the word "igloo" is used.
In Literature and Publications
Non-Fiction/Anthropology: In ethnographies and books about Arctic indigenous peoples, the igloo (or iglu) is discussed as a marvel of engineering—a temporary snow shelter that uses the human body's own heat and the insulating properties of snow to stay relatively warm inside, even as outside temperatures plummet.
Children's Literature: Many children are first introduced to the concept in books like Curious George Builds an Igloo or Jan Brett's The Three Snow Bears, where the structure is central to the setting and plot.
News & Online Articles: Travel articles and online publications often misuse the term to describe "glass igloos," which are dome-shaped luxury hotel rooms in destinations like Finland, built for tourists to observe the Northern Lights (CNET, February 2024).
In Entertainment Media
Television: In the classic stop-motion children's program Pingu, the protagonist penguin family lives in an igloo, which functions as their recognizable home throughout the series.
Film: The 1922 silent film Nanook of the North features a famous, extended sequence where the title character demonstrates the traditional method of constructing an igloo from blocks of snow.
Video Games: In the sandbox game Minecraft, igloos are structures that naturally generate in snowy biomes. Players can find them, and some contain a hidden basement with useful items.
Video Games: In the formerly popular online game Club Penguin, each player's customizable "home base" was represented as a personal igloo.
In General Public Discourse
Brand Names: The word is famously used as a brand name for a popular line of portable coolers. In common speech, "Igloo" has become a genericized trademark in some regions, much like "Kleenex" for tissues (e.g., "Pass me a drink from the igloo.") (Igloo Products Corp.).
Figurative Language: In casual conversation, people often use the word figuratively to describe a place that is uncomfortably cold. For example: "You need to turn the heat on; it feels like an igloo in this office."
Figurative Language (Isolation): Less commonly, the term can be used metaphorically to describe a state of cultural or social isolation, implying a person or group is "walled off" from others, much like the structure's self-contained, insular shape.
10 Famous Quotes Using Igloo
May you have warmth in your igloo, oil in your lamp, and peace in your heart. (Inuit Proverb)
In modern life we move from one insulated igloo to another serially abstracting ourselves from nature and its impacts. (Rinker Buck, The Oregon Trail: A New American Journey)
The sea-thing child was restless in the night, and he came out of his sea-stone igloo and went for a walk on the beach all alone. (Russell Hoban, The Sea-Thing Child)
I look like spending it in the isolation of a house turned igloo. (C.S. Lewis, The Letters of C.S. Lewis)
The story this book tells is about the people who made our world... then the people who lied about that problem. (David Lipsky, The Parrot and the Igloo: Climate and the Science of Denial)
...all over your nice clean igloo floor, the snows of winter, the snows of spring, the snows you... (Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy)
A home, whether a castle or an igloo, is built not from materials, but from the love shared within its walls. (Original)
Gossip is the wind that blows through the village, but it cannot penetrate the thick walls of an honest man's igloo. (Original)
The architect marveled at the igloo, a perfect dome built with no tools save for a knife and human ingenuity. (Original)
A library is an igloo for the mind, insulating us from the chill of ignorance with the warmth of a thousand stories. (Original)
Etymology
The word igloo comes to us directly from the Inuktitut language, which is spoken by the Inuit people of the Arctic (in Greenland, Canada, and Alaska).
The original Inuktitut word is iglu (Inuktitut script: ᐃᒡᓗ).
Here is the most interesting part of its history: In its original language, iglu is the general, everyday word for any kind of house or building. It doesn't specifically mean a snow shelter; it could also refer to a house made of sod, wood, or stone.
When European explorers first came into contact with the Inuit, with the first known use in English appearing around 1772, they were fascinated by the unique dome-shaped shelters built from blocks of snow. English speakers didn't have a specific word for this type of structure, so they adopted the local word iglu to describe what they saw.
In English, the word "igloo" became specialized. Since we already had the word "house," "igloo" took on the very specific meaning it has today: a dome-shaped shelter made of snow.
Phrases + Idioms Containing Igloo
Here is a list of phrases and idioms related to the word "igloo" and its associated concepts.
Phrases Using "Igloo"
"It feels like an igloo in here."
A common phrase used to describe a room or building that is uncomfortably cold."Glass igloo"
A modern term for a dome-shaped hotel room with a transparent roof, designed for viewing the northern lights."Igloo cooler"
A genericized trademark where the brand name "Igloo" is used to refer to any portable, insulated ice chest."An emotional igloo"
A figurative phrase describing a person who is emotionally cold, distant, or has built a protective "wall" around themselves."Living in a social igloo"
A phrase implying a person or group is intentionally isolated or cut off from the rest of society.
Idioms with a Similar (Cold/Isolated) Effect
To give someone the cold shoulder
To be intentionally unfriendly, distant, or aloof toward someone.A frosty reception
An unfriendly or unwelcoming greeting.Cold as ice
To be completely without emotion or sympathy.To be snowed under
To be overwhelmed with a large amount of work.To be frozen out
To be excluded or prevented from participating in a group or activity.Holed up
To be hidden away or sheltered in a small, enclosed space, similar to the inside of an igloo.In one's own little world (or bubble)
To be isolated and unaware of or uninterested in what is happening outside one's own limited sphere.
Vocabulary-Based Stories from SEA
Source Information
Definition of igloo from The Academic Glossary at Self Exploration Academy, a Urikville Press Publication. © All rights reserved.
