icebreaker means A ship designed to break through ice so that it, or other ships coming behind, can navigate on frozen seas. Lexicurio rates it Rare gem — a strength score of 70 out of 100.
icebreaker is pronounced /ˈaɪsˌbɹeɪkəɹ/.
Why “icebreaker” is a great word
ICEBREAKER — [Noun] A ship built to navigate through ice-covered waters, or, more commonly, a thing or activity designed to relieve social tension and initiate conversation among strangers. From the English words 'ice' (frozen water) and 'breaker' (one that breaks), with the figurative social sense derived from the expression 'to break the ice'; first attested in the literal nautical sense in the mid-18th century. Unlike an "introduction," which formally presents identities, or "team-building," which constructs long-term cohesion, an icebreaker is a provisional tool for forging a path through the initial, brittle silence. It is the steel-reinforced bow parting a frozen sea; the shared laughter over a clumsily answered prompt; the tactile release of passing a small object from one nervous palm to another—a deliberate fracture in the social surface that allows humanity, however briefly, to flow.
Etymology
From ice + breaker, in the figurative sense from the expression to break the ice.
noun
- A ship designed to break through ice so that it, or other ships coming behind, can navigate on frozen seas.“The steel hulls of ice-breakers are much thicker than those of standard vessels.”
- A game, activity, humorous anecdote, etc., designed to ease tension and encourage interaction among individuals in a situation where they do not know each other well.“The new college hallmates were awkward with each other at first, but after a game of charades as an icebreaker, they were laughing like old friends.”
- A lively song and dance routine at the start of a musical.“At the moment the curtain went up there had to be a lively ensemble number of principals and chorus singing and dancing, the traditional “icebreaker” that also covered up the noise of late-arriving ticket holders getting to their seats.”