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  • deep freeze
    deep freeze
    noun
    a state or period of halted or suspended activity or progress.
  • deep-freeze
    deep-freeze
    verb (used with object)
    to quick-freeze (food).
Synonyms

deep freeze

1 American  

noun

  1. a state or period of halted or suspended activity or progress.

    High interest rates created a deep freeze in housing construction.

  2. suspended animation.

idioms

  1. put in / into the deep freeze, to stop or suspend the activity or progress of.

    A series of quarrels put their romance into the deep freeze.
deep-freeze 2 American  
[deep-freez] / ˈdipˈfriz /

verb (used with object)

deep-freezed, deep-froze, deep-freezed, deep-frozen, deep-freezing

  1. to quick-freeze (food).

  2. to store in a frozen state.

Etymology

Origin of deep freeze1

An Americanism dating back to 1940–45

Origin of deep-freeze2

An Americanism dating back to 1945–50; deep + freeze

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.

Deep freeze, armchair, film tapes, circuits, beds, and all like skeletons thrown in a cluttered mound deep under.

From "The Martian Chronicles" by Ray Bradbury

"Deep freeze," the acting-commander of the Queen said succinctly.

From Plague Ship by Norton, Andre

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.