# snowing

/ˈsnoʊɪŋ/ (US) · /snˈəʊɪŋ/ (UK) · CEFR A1 · Verb

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/snowing
Updated: 2026-05-08

## Definition

when soft, white pieces of frozen water fall from the sky.

For teachers: the precipitation of frozen water in the form of hexagonal crystals. Used almost exclusively with the dummy subject 'it'.

## Examples

- It is snowing outside right now.
- We stayed inside all morning because it was snowing too hard to see the road.
- The weather forecast predicted a light dusting, but by midnight it was snowing heavily enough to bury the garden fence entirely.

## Pitfalls

- Not "The sky is snowing" but "It is snowing" — English uses the dummy subject 'it' for weather verbs; the sky or the clouds are not used as the subject.

## Usage notes

- Typically used with the impersonal 'it' as the subject ('It is snowing').

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.