frozen

American  

[froh-zuhn] / ˈfroʊ zən /

verb

1. past participle of freeze.

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adjective

1. congealed by cold; turned into ice.

2. covered with ice, as a stream.

3. frigid; very cold.

4. injured or killed by frost or cold.

5. obstructed by ice, as pipes.

6. chilly or cold in manner; unfeeling.

   a frozen stare.

7. rigid; immobilized.

   The child was frozen with fear.

8. quick-frozen.

   frozen foods.

9. (of food) chilled or refrigerated.

10. (especially of a drink) mixed with ice and frappéed in an electric blender.

11. in a form that is not readily convertible into cash; not liquid.

    frozen assets.

12. not permitted to be changed or incapable of being altered; fixed.

    frozen rents; frozen salaries.

13. 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.

frozen British  

/ ˈfrəʊzən /

verb

1. the past participle of freeze

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adjective

1. turned into or covered with ice

2. obstructed or blocked by ice

3. killed, injured, or stiffened by extreme cold

4. (of a region or climate) icy or snowy

5. (of food) preserved by a freezing process

6. 1. (of prices, wages, etc) arbitrarily pegged at a certain level

   2. (of business assets) not convertible into cash, as by government direction or business conditions

7. frigid, unfeeling, or disdainful in manner

8. motionless or unyielding

   he was frozen with horror

Other Word Forms

• frozenly adverb
• frozenness noun
• prefrozen adjective
• unfrozen adjective

Etymology

Origin of frozen

First recorded in 1300–50, for the adjective

Example Sentences

Unions and workers complain of "starvation wages" which have been frozen since 2022.

From Barron's • Apr. 9, 2026

Households cut back on recreation, food, drinks and gasoline because of difficult driving conditions and lack of parking due to frozen snow.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 9, 2026

Other Arab nations have proposed using frozen Iranian oil funds in Qatar and elsewhere to finance Iran’s rebuilding efforts, an idea Iran is open to.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 8, 2026

The team suspected that a vent had frozen over, so they gently turned the ship so that the vent faced the sun, warming it up.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 6, 2026

Since the meat would not thaw in this weather and fuel for the cooker was low, I would eat frozen caribou.

From "Black Star, Bright Dawn" by Scott O'Dell

Related Words

• chilled
• frigid
• ice-cold
• iced
• icy