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

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

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

Mikie Sherrill became New Jersey’s new governor partly on a pledge to freeze electric rates after a 20% price spike.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 27, 2026

Despite the court freeze, Paramount and Warner Bros insist that combining their operations is essential to compete with digital streaming giants and tech conglomerates.

From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026

A federal hiring freeze last year forced the agency to scale back the number of workers who check prices in stores nationwide for the CPI.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026

"Thankfully, I managed to freeze my eggs but I can't now carry a baby, so if I do decide to have children I will have to go down the surrogacy route," she says.

From BBC ● Jul. 19, 2026

“Do you want us to freeze to death out here? Do you? The farm is only a few hours away, twelve kilometers, maybe less. Now get a grip on yourself and just walk.”

From "An Elephant in the Garden" by Michael Morpurgo

Subscriptions to all the streaming services, from Apple TV to Netflix, will continue to remain live until the bank receives her death certificate and finally freezes her account.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 15, 2026

One of its most unusual traits is that it expands instead of contracts when it freezes.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 8, 2026

This discount effectively freezes Strategy’s ability to issue new common shares to buy more bitcoin because doing so would dilute existing shareholders.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 29, 2026

She also freezes a big bottle of water overnight that she can take to work the next day.

From BBC ● Jun. 25, 2026

The lid creaks as Scoob’s lowering it to secure the latch, and he freezes.

From "Clean Getaway" by Nic Stone

In February, Zimbabwe froze exports of raw minerals ahead of a full ban in 2027, announcing it would require "in-country value addition and beneficiation".

From Barron's ● Jul. 26, 2026

In the meantime, her hesitation froze the field.

From Slate ● Jul. 24, 2026

“Everyone froze and jumped onto the site—we probably delayed a lot of model progression,” King said, laughing.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026

Kalshi froze Perez's account before any profits could be withdrawn, according to reports.

From BBC ● Jul. 16, 2026

I froze as it roared up the street toward me, its headlights blazing.

From "Firegirl" by Tony Abbott

The other young agents were frozen, unsure what to do.

From Slate ● Jul. 27, 2026

He said those provide enough power to keep fries frozen and fans whirring as long as they are switched out every five hours or so.

From Barron's ● Jul. 25, 2026

Don’t miss: I found a simple way to save money on frozen pizza.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 25, 2026

Other notes on the site suggest the account was first frozen a maximum of nine days after Britain Means Business's second donation.

From BBC ● Jul. 25, 2026

The trail crossed the stream directly at the top of a small, frozen waterfall with about a twenty-foot drop.

From "Woodsong" by Gary Paulsen

Out the window, I noticed a spot in the alley where the thawing and freezing of ice had created a ravine, where car tires would get lodged and trap the driver.

From Slate ● Jul. 27, 2026

Microwaving and freezing isn’t a reliable way to kill it.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026

If those nucleation sites are absent, water can remain liquid even after it has been cooled below its normal freezing point.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 8, 2026

He looks at me in momentary panic, freezing on the spot, closing his eyes and placing both hands on his ears.

From BBC ● Jul. 6, 2026

I’d run home in the dark, dripping wet and freezing.

From "Glitch" by Laura Martin

Related Words

• chill
• ice
• refrigerate