ice-bag

A nurse applies an ice-bag to a patient's sprained ankle.

Definition

1. Noun:
   • Medical cold compress: An "ice-bag" is a waterproof bag filled with ice or a cold substance, used to apply cold therapy to a part of the body, typically to reduce swelling, pain, or inflammation.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • After spraining his ankle, he applied an ice-bag to the injury for twenty minutes. (A cold compress used to reduce swelling.)
  • The nurse brought an ice-bag to the patient's room to ease the fever. (A medical tool for cooling the body.)

Advanced Usage

• "to use an ice-bag": to apply cold therapy.

  • She used an ice-bag on her knee after the long run. (She placed a cold pack on her knee.)

• "to refill an ice-bag": to replace the ice inside.

  • The ice-bag melted quickly, so he had to refill it with fresh ice. (He needed to add new ice to the bag.)

Variants and Related Words

• Ice pack (n): a similar cold compress, often a reusable gel pack or a bag of ice.

  • The athlete grabbed an ice pack from the cooler. (A cold therapy device.)

• Ice bag (n): an alternate spelling of "ice-bag" (less common hyphenation).

  • He bought an ice bag at the pharmacy. (Same meaning as ice-bag.)

Synonyms

• Cold compress: a cloth or pad soaked in cold water or filled with ice.
• Cold pack: a sealed bag of ice or gel used for therapeutic cooling.

Related Idioms