frozen
Americanverb
adjective
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congealed by cold; turned into ice.
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covered with ice, as a stream.
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frigid; very cold.
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injured or killed by frost or cold.
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obstructed by ice, as pipes.
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chilly or cold in manner; unfeeling.
a frozen stare.
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rigid; immobilized.
The child was frozen with fear.
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quick-frozen.
frozen foods.
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(of food) chilled or refrigerated.
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(especially of a drink) mixed with ice and frappéed in an electric blender.
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in a form that is not readily convertible into cash; not liquid.
frozen assets.
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not permitted to be changed or incapable of being altered; fixed.
frozen rents; frozen salaries.
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Canasta. (of the discard pile) unable to be picked up by a player unless the player's hand contains a natural pair to match the top card of the pile.
verb
adjective
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turned into or covered with ice
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obstructed or blocked by ice
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killed, injured, or stiffened by extreme cold
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(of a region or climate) icy or snowy
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(of food) preserved by a freezing process
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(of prices, wages, etc) arbitrarily pegged at a certain level
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(of business assets) not convertible into cash, as by government direction or business conditions
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frigid, unfeeling, or disdainful in manner
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motionless or unyielding
he was frozen with horror
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of frozen
First recorded in 1300–50, for the adjective
Explanation
Frozen liquids are so cold that they've become ice. Frozen orange juice makes a delicious homemade popsicle. If your car's door handle is frozen, it's impossible to open, and if your driveway's surface is frozen, it's a sheet of ice. If your TV dinner is still frozen after you cook it, your microwave may not be working properly. When people are frozen, they're often exaggerating how cold they are — or they may be struck as still as a statue, frozen in place. Frozen comes from freeze, with its Old English root freosan, "turn to ice."
Vocabulary lists containing frozen
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Frozen in time yet alive with glamour and spontaneity, these moments are part of a new exhibition in Istanbul featuring previously unseen shots by Turkey's legendary Magnum photographer Ara Guler at the Cannes Film Festival.
From Barron's • May 10, 2026
Frozen concentrate fell behind the novel idea of “not from concentrate”—no longer did they squeeze it and freeze it.
From Slate • Apr. 20, 2026
Allan, 74, was principal cameraman on a number of BBC programmes including The Blue Planet, Blue Planet II, Planet Earth and Frozen Planet, and spent much of his career working alongside Sir David Attenborough.
From BBC • Apr. 8, 2026
Frozen waterways blur into land, and only a bridge or half-buried boat hints that water still moves beneath the white.
From Salon • Mar. 8, 2026
And in order to visit C.C. at the Shipwreck, one only had to stroll across the solid surface of the Mainly Frozen Ocean; swimming was no longer required.
From "The Very, Very Far North" by Dan Bar-el
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
