freeze

American  

[freez] / friz /

verb (used without object)

• freezes,
  present (3rd person singular)
• froze,
  past
• frozen,
  past participle
• freezing
  present participle

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 byup ).

    He froze at such a personal question.

13. Digital Technology. (of hardware or software) to become temporarily inoperable; cease to function (often followed byup ).

    The new software made my laptop freeze.

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verb (used with object)

• freezes,
  present (3rd person singular)
• froze,
  past
• frozen,
  past participle
• freezing
  present participle

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. Digital Technology. to render (hardware or software) temporarily inoperable.

    Ironically, it was a security update for my operating system that froze my computer.

16. Surgery. to render part of the body insensitive to pain or slower in its function by artificial means.

17. 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.

18. to photograph (a moving subject) at a shutter speed fast enough to produce an unblurred, seemingly motionless image.

19. Movies. to stop by means of a freeze-frame mechanism.

    You can freeze the action at any point.

20. 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.

21. Ice Hockey. to hold (a puck) against the boards with the skates or stick, causing play to stop and forcing a face-off.

noun

• freezes
  plural

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. Digital Technology. a cease in function when software gets caught in loops or hardware lacks sufficient processing power to continue a task.

5. a legislative action, especially in time of national emergency, to control prices, rents, production, etc..

   The government put a freeze on new construction.

6. a decision by one or more nations to stop or limit production or development of weapons, especially nuclear weapons.

verb phrase

1. freeze on / onto 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.

freeze British  

/ friːz /

verb

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. to cover, clog, or harden with ice, or become so covered, clogged, or hardened

   the 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, etc

   he 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. informal (tr) to render (tissue or a part of the body) insensitive, as by the application or injection of a local anaesthetic

16. informal 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

1. a command to stop still instantly or risk being shot

freeze Scientific  

/ frēz /

1. To change from a liquid to a solid state by cooling or being cooled to the freezing point.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• freezability
  noun
• refreeze
  verb
• defreeze
  verb (used with object)
• prefreeze
  verb (used with object)
• freezable
  adjective
• nonfreezable
  adjective
• postfreeze
  adjective
• refreezable
  adjective
• unfreezable
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• freezes
  plural

Participles

• freezing
  present
• frozen
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• freeze
  simple
• freezes
  simple
• have frozen
  perfect
• has frozen
  perfect
• am freezing
  progressive
• are freezing
  progressive
• is freezing
  progressive
• have been freezing
  perfect progressive
• has been freezing
  perfect progressive

Past

• froze
  simple
• had frozen
  perfect
• was freezing
  progressive
• were freezing
  progressive
• had been freezing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will freeze
  simple
• will have frozen
  perfect
• will be freezing
  progressive
• will have been freezing
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of freeze

First recorded before 1000; (verb) Middle English fresen, Old English frēosan; cognate with Middle Low German vrēsen, Dutch vriezen, Old Norse frjōsa, Old High German friosan ( German frieren ); (noun) late Middle English frese, derivative of the verb

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Explanation

When liquids freeze, they become so cold that they turn solid. The little squares of water in an ice tray freeze and become ice cubes when you put them in your freezer long enough. Orange juice and grape drink freeze into popsicles, and puddles freeze overnight if the temperature drops enough. You can freeze things, too, as when you freeze leftovers to be reheated in a few days. People often tend to use this verb in an exaggerating way when they're feeling cold: "If you don't wear your gloves, your fingers will freeze!" The Old English root of freeze is freosan, "turn to ice."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

freeze freezes froze frozen freezing

If you’re a wealthy celebrity who had the foresight to freeze your eggs—or who wants to use an egg donor—it’s an expensive but relatively simple route to parenthood.

From Slate ● Oct. 16, 2026

"It's a kind of a stillness, or a stare - a sit stare, or just a freeze stare."

From BBC ● Oct. 14, 2026

Departments with strong ROI were no more likely than others to reduce staff or freeze hiring.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026

Immigration lawyers point out that the action is not a blanket suspension of green card applications for all employers, but a targeted enforcement freeze on the Permanent Labor Certification program for the eight named corporations.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026

I freeze solid when I hear him say it.

From "King and the Dragonflies" by Kacen Callender

The Foreign Office has also sanctioned two Iranians, including the head of the regime's counterespionage operations - with both men subjected to travel bans and asset freezes.

From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2026

Tomlinson has a bit from her first Netflix special “Quarter-Life Crisis” about your 20s being a period to “fish trash out of the lake before it freezes over.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026

Library freezes fines, receives magazine 132 years overdue.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 16, 2026

“For a capital intensive, long-term industry, uncertainty slows you down. Sometimes it freezes you.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 31, 2026

She hurries us out into the night air, which instantly freezes the tears in our tired eyes.

From "What the Night Sings" by Vesper Stamper

Prosecutor Simon Jones said: "Mr Semenyo briefly froze as he couldn't believe what the male had said."

From BBC ● Oct. 14, 2026

The Raptors temporarily froze the Leonard trade after the NBA announced Toronto would inherit any penalties assessed to Leonard following its investigation.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 14, 2026

In one large study using national data from nearly 50,000 women who froze their eggs, fewer than 3 percent returned to use them during the study period.

From Slate ● Aug. 29, 2026

Soon after being sworn in, he froze research funding at some universities and demanded changes in faculty and curriculum.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026

Immediately the beast froze completely, although his cold, dead eyes still glared at Jack.

From "Half Upon a Time" by James Riley

She added she understood people's concerns around the freshness of the food but her "understanding is that the meals are actually frozen rather than artificially preserved".

From BBC ● Oct. 17, 2026

If you’re using frozen eggs, the chances of getting pregnant aren’t bad at all.

From Slate ● Oct. 16, 2026

Its maximum extent was the third lowest on record, adding to growing evidence of a dramatic shift in Antarctica's frozen waters.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 16, 2026

Many tenants can’t afford rent, even though prices have largely been frozen for the last four years and home values are dropping.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026

It meant slow, grueling work in a frozen mine.

From "Rump: The (Fairly) True Story of Rumpelstilskin" by Liesl Shurtliff

Many people have to do two to three retrievals, because there’s no guarantee of getting enough eggs the first time, especially if you’re freezing them in your late 30s.

From Slate ● Oct. 16, 2026

Outside, balmy and natural, inside things turned freezing.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026

The researchers recorded how much time the animals spent near the scent and whether they responded by freezing or fleeing.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 7, 2026

He said heavy rain could overwhelm drainage systems and penetrate walls, causing damp and erosion, while repeated cycles of wetting, drying, freezing and thawing could harm stonework.

From BBC ● Oct. 4, 2026

He shivered because the night was freezing cold.

From "I Survived the Sinking of the Titanic, 1912" by Lauren Tarshis

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Related Words

• chill
• ice
• refrigerate

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