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freeze

[freez]
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verb (used without object), froze, fro·zen, freez·ing.
  1. to become hardened into ice or into a solid body; change from the liquid to the solid state by loss of heat.
  2. to become hard or stiffened because of loss of heat, as objects containing moisture: Meat will freeze in a few hours.
  3. to suffer the effects of intense cold; have the sensation of extreme cold: We sat there freezing until the heat came on.
  4. to be of the degree of cold at which water freezes: It may freeze tonight.
  5. to lose warmth of feeling; be stunned or chilled with fear, shock, etc.: My heart froze when she told me the news.
  6. to become immobilized through fear, shock, etc.: When he got in front of the audience he froze.
  7. to stop suddenly and remain motionless; halt: I froze in my tracks.
  8. to become obstructed by the formation of ice, as pipes: Our basement water pipes often freeze in winter.
  9. to die or be injured because of frost or cold.
  10. (of a screw, nail, or the like) to become rigidly fixed in place, as from rust or dirt.
  11. to become fixed to something by or as if by the action of frost.
  12. to become unfriendly, secretive, or aloof (often followed by up): He froze at such a personal question.
  13. to become temporarily inoperable; cease to function (often followed by up): The new software made my computer freeze.
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verb (used with object), froze, fro·zen, freez·ing.
  1. to harden into ice; change from a fluid to a solid form by loss of heat; congeal.
  2. to form ice on the surface of (a river, pond, etc.).
  3. to harden or stiffen (an object containing moisture) by cold.
  4. to quick-freeze.
  5. to subject to freezing temperature; place in a freezer or in the freezing compartment of a refrigerator.
  6. to cause to suffer the effects of intense cold; produce the sensation of extreme cold in.
  7. to cause to lose warmth as if by cold; chill with fear; dampen the enthusiasm of.
  8. to cause (a person or animal) to become fixed through fright, alarm, shock, etc.: Terror froze him to the steering wheel.
  9. to kill by frost or cold: A late snow froze the buds.
  10. to fix fast with ice: a sled frozen to a sidewalk.
  11. to obstruct or close (a pipe or the like) by the formation of ice: The storm had frozen the hydrant.
  12. to fix (rents, prices, etc.) at a specific amount, usually by government order.
  13. to stop or limit production, use, or development of: an agreement to freeze nuclear weapons.
  14. Finance. to render impossible of liquidation or collection: Bank loans are frozen in business depressions.
  15. Surgery. to render part of the body insensitive to pain or slower in its function by artificial means.
  16. Cards.
    1. Canasta.to play a wild card on (the discard pile) so as to make it frozen.
    2. Poker.to eliminate (other players) in a game of freezeout.
  17. to photograph (a moving subject) at a shutter speed fast enough to produce an unblurred, seemingly motionless image.
  18. Movies. to stop by means of a freeze-frame mechanism: You can freeze the action at any point.
  19. Sports. to maintain possession of (a ball or puck) for as long as possible, usually without trying to score, thereby reducing the opponent's opportunities for scoring.
  20. Ice Hockey. to hold (a puck) against the boards with the skates or stick, causing play to stop and forcing a face-off.
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noun
  1. the act of freezing; state of being frozen.
  2. Also called ice-up. Meteorology. a widespread occurrence of temperatures below 32°F (0°C) persisting for at least several days: A freeze is expected in the coastal areas.
  3. a frost.
  4. a legislative action, especially in time of national emergency, to control prices, rents, production, etc.: The government put a freeze on new construction.
  5. a decision by one or more nations to stop or limit production or development of weapons, especially nuclear weapons.
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Verb Phrases
  1. freeze on/onto, Informal. to adhere closely to; hold on; seize.
  2. freeze out, to exclude or compel (somebody) to withdraw from membership, acceptance, a position of influence or advantage, etc., by cold treatment or severe competition.
  3. freeze over, to coat or become coated with ice: The lake freezes over for several months each year.
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Origin of freeze

before 1000; (v.) Middle English fresen, Old English frēosan; cognate with Middle Low German vrēsen, Old Norse frjōsa, Old High German friosan (German frieren); (noun) late Middle English frese, derivative of the v.
Related formsfreez·a·ble, adjectivefreez·a·bil·i·ty, nounde·freeze, verb (used with object), de·froze, de·fro·zen, de·freez·ing.non·freez·a·ble, adjectivepost·freeze, adjectivepre·freeze, verb (used with object), pre·froze, pre·fro·zen, pre·freez·ing.re·freez·a·ble, adjectivere·freeze, verb, re·froze, re·fro·zen, re·freez·ing.un·freez·a·ble, adjective
Can be confusedfreeze frieze
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for freeze

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • Wagon-tracks along the road were filled with water and had begun to freeze.

    K

    Mary Roberts Rinehart

  • Content to starve, content to freeze, if only he need not be carried into captivity.

    The Village Watch-Tower

    (AKA Kate Douglas Riggs) Kate Douglas Wiggin

  • Put him in a car of dressed beef and he'd freeze it between here and Spokane.

    Ruggles of Red Gap

    Harry Leon Wilson

  • "But it never has been cold enough to freeze your tail off," said the Prince, consolingly.

    Prince Vance

    Eleanor Putnam

  • He laughed—a low laugh that seemed to freeze the air around him.

British Dictionary definitions for freeze

freeze

verb freezes, freezing, froze (frəʊz) or frozen (ˈfrəʊzən)
  1. to change (a liquid) into a solid as a result of a reduction in temperature, or (of a liquid) to solidify in this way, esp to convert or be converted into ice
  2. (when intr, sometimes foll by over or up) to cover, clog, or harden with ice, or become so covered, clogged, or hardenedthe lake froze over last week
  3. to fix fast or become fixed (to something) because of the action of frost
  4. (tr) to preserve (food) by subjection to extreme cold, as in a freezer
  5. to feel or cause to feel the sensation or effects of extreme cold
  6. to die or cause to die of frost or extreme cold
  7. to become or cause to become paralysed, fixed, or motionless, esp through fear, shock, etche froze in his tracks
  8. (tr) to cause (moving film) to stop at a particular frame
  9. to decrease or cause to decrease in animation or vigour
  10. to make or become formal, haughty, etc, in manner
  11. (tr) to fix (prices, incomes, etc) at a particular level, usually by government direction
  12. (tr) to forbid by law the exchange, liquidation, or collection of (loans, assets, etc)
  13. (tr) to prohibit the manufacture, sale, or use of (something specified)
  14. (tr) to stop (a process) at a particular stage of development
  15. (tr) informal to render (tissue or a part of the body) insensitive, as by the application or injection of a local anaesthetic
  16. (intr foll by onto) informal, mainly US to cling
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noun
  1. the act of freezing or state of being frozen
  2. meteorol a spell of temperatures below freezing point, usually over a wide area
  3. the fixing of incomes, prices, etc, by legislation
  4. another word for frost
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sentence substitute
  1. mainly US a command to stop still instantly or risk being shot
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Derived Formsfreezable, adjective

Word Origin

Old English frēosan; related to Old Norse frjōsa, Old High German friosan, Latin prūrīre to itch; see frost
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for freeze

v.

Old English freosan "turn to ice" (class II strong verb; past tense freas, past participle froren), from Proto-Germanic *freusanan (cf. Old Norse frjosa, Old High German friosan, German frieren "to freeze," Gothic frius "frost"), from Proto-Germanic *freus-, equivalent to PIE root *preus- "to freeze," also "to burn" (cf. Sanskrit prusva, Latin pruina "hoarfrost," Welsh rhew "frost," Sanskrit prustah "burnt," Albanian prus "burning coals," Latin pruna "a live coal").

Transitive sense first recorded 14c., figurative sense c.1400. Meaning "become rigid or motionless" attested by 1720. Sense of "fix at a certain level, make non-transactable" is 1922. Freeze frame is from 1960, originally "a briefly Frozen Shot after the Jingle to allow ample time for Change over at the end of a T.V. 'Commercial.' " ["ABC of Film & TV," 1960].

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n.

c.1400, from freeze (v.).

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
freeze in Medicine

freeze

(frēz)
v.
  1. To pass from the liquid to the solid state by loss of heat.
  2. To make or become congealed, stiffened, or hardened by exposure to cold.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
freeze in Science

freeze

[frēz]
  1. To change from a liquid to a solid state by cooling or being cooled to the freezing point.
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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.