snow fence

noun

: a usually slatted fence placed across the path of prevailing winds to protect something (such as a building, road, or railroad track) from drifting snow by disrupting the flow of wind and causing the snow to be deposited on the lee side of the fence

Examples of snow fence in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Boxwood is covered in burlap and snow fence is draped around trees and shrubs to prevent deer from devouring them. Daryln Brewer Hoffstot Kristian Thacker, New York Times, 28 Mar. 2025 Conservationists responded with engineering, building snow fences to steer snakes toward a network of six-inch tunnels under the highway. Scott Travers, Forbes.com, 26 Mar. 2025 Under her dedicated leadership, the Blackfeet have built snow fences to preserve snow on the Montana grasslands just below the mountains, a moisture-saving technique. CBS News, 15 May 2024 Natural Snow Fence Piggybacking off the benefit of reducing water runoff, plants left standing act as a snow fence to reduce drifting across sidewalks, roads, and driveways. Benjamin Vogt, Better Homes & Gardens, 13 Oct. 2023 On this bright, cold day in interior Alaska, five scientists and I are digging out tons of snow along the fourth of six snow fences positioned on a gradual hill on the tundra, hauling it away on sleds. Ted Schuur, Scientific American, 1 Dec. 2016 The school was planning to build a snow fence. Emily Witt, The New Yorker, 21 Nov. 2022 The young men and a couple of parents took that snow fence, brought over for use by the city service department, and had it up in no time. Sam Boyer, cleveland, 26 Sep. 2021 But the ball found a gap under the snow fence in left field for a ground-rule double. BostonGlobe.com, 5 June 2021

Word History

First Known Use

1872, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of snow fence was in 1872

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Snow fence.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/snow%20fence. Accessed 16 Apr. 2025.

Kids Definition

snow fence

noun
: a fence placed across the usual path of the wind to protect something (as a road) from snowdrifts
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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