Deice (4)
I believe the answer is:
thaw
'deice' is the definition.
(I know that deice is a more specific form of thaw)
This is the entire clue.
(Other definitions for thaw that I've seen before include "following 28 [SILVER]" , "(Of snow) start to melt" , "get warmer" , "detente" , "Player of detective" .)