thaw
Americanverb (used without object)
-
thaws,
present (3rd person singular)
-
thawed,
past participle, past
-
thawing
present participle
-
to pass or change from a frozen to a liquid or semiliquid state; melt.
- Antonyms:
- freeze
-
to be freed from the physical effect of frost or extreme cold (sometimes followed byout ).
Sit by the fire and thaw out.
- Synonyms:
- warm
-
(of the weather) to become warm enough to melt ice and snow.
It will probably thaw today.
-
to become less formal, reserved, or aloof.
He thawed at their kindness.
-
to become less hostile or tense.
International relations thawed.
verb (used with object)
-
thaws,
present (3rd person singular)
-
thawed,
past participle, past
-
thawing
present participle
-
to cause to change from a frozen to a liquid or semiliquid state; melt.
-
to free from the physical effect of frost or extreme cold; bring to a more normal temperature, especially to room temperature.
I took the steaks out of the freezer and thawed them.
-
to make less cold, formal, or reserved.
- Synonyms:
- warm
-
to make less tense or hostile.
noun
-
thaws
plural
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the act or process of thawing.
-
the act or fact of becoming less formal, reserved, or aloof.
-
a reduction or easing in tension or hostility.
-
(in winter or in areas where freezing weather is the norm) weather warm enough to melt ice and snow.
-
a period of such weather.
We had a two-week thaw in January.
-
the thaw, the first day in the year when ice in harbors, rivers, etc., breaks up or loosens enough to begin flowing to the sea, allowing navigation.
The Anchorage thaw came on May 18th.
verb
-
to melt or cause to melt from a solid frozen state
the snow thawed
-
to become or cause to become unfrozen; defrost
-
(intr) to be the case that the ice or snow is melting
it's thawing fast
-
(intr) to become more sociable, relaxed, or friendly
noun
-
the act or process of thawing
-
a spell of relatively warm weather, causing snow or ice to melt
-
an increase in relaxation or friendliness
Synonym Usage
See melt 1.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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thawsimple
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thawssimple
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have thawedperfect
-
has thawedperfect
-
am thawingprogressive
-
are thawingprogressive
-
is thawingprogressive
-
have been thawingperfect progressive
-
has been thawingperfect progressive
Past
-
thawedsimple
-
had thawedperfect
-
was thawingprogressive
-
were thawingprogressive
-
had been thawingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of thaw
First recorded before 1000; (verb) Middle English thawen, Old English thawian; cognate with Dutch dooien, Old Norse theyja; (noun) late Middle English, derivative of the verb
Explanation
When things thaw, they're coming out of deep freeze and warming up. You can thaw a chicken, and a chilly friendship can thaw too. Anything that thaws is warming up after a frigid or chilly period. The weather thaws when spring hits, especially after a bad winter. When you take food out of the freezer, it thaws. When you have an unpleasant relationship with someone, that can thaw too. A warm, friendly gesture from one person to another can be a sign that their cold relationship is thawing. When you think of thawing, think "Warming up."
Vocabulary lists containing thaw
The Vernal Vocabulary of Spring
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The Egypt Game
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Schooled
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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.
See Examples For:
At the same time, increasing permafrost thaw is further weakening Arctic coastlines, making them more susceptible to erosion and storm damage.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 14, 2026
At the same time, warming is destabilising permafrost - permanently frozen ground that can thaw as temperatures rise - and high mountain slopes, increasing the possibility of cascading hazards, the report says.
From BBC ● Sep. 13, 2026
Chinese leader Xi Jinping is visiting New Delhi this weekend, signaling a thaw in relations between China and India.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026
Efforts to unfreeze the market before its natural thaw are where conservatives and progressives are finding common ground.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 1, 2026
The ground was soft and there was an early thaw.
From "Life Is So Good" by George Dawson
As permafrost thaws and coastlines erode, some of that carbon is carried into the ocean.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 3, 2026
Climate change is intensifying competition, with previously inaccessible minerals increasingly available for exploitation as the ice thaws and new shipping routes open.
From Barron's ● Mar. 13, 2026
In recent years, there has been increased interest in Greenland's natural resources, including rare earth minerals, uranium and iron, which are becoming easier to access as climate change thaws its ice sheet.
From BBC ● Jan. 17, 2026
Silas thaws on learning of David’s newfound success.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 2, 2026
In the cold of winter, the wood frog’s heart freezes and stops, waiting until spring until it thaws and beats again.
From "A Heart in a Body in the World" by Deb Caletti
Perry’s Steakhouse Dinner Size Pork Chops are fully cooked and only need to be thawed and warmed through; add a big, fresh salad and baked potatoes, and dinner is served.
From Salon ● Jul. 12, 2026
There are also the 85 million pounds of food that thawed, burned and spoiled inside, creating a terrible smell emanating from the property.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 10, 2026
The broth is frozen for four days and thawed on the fifth.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 30, 2026
The spat led to a legal showdown with the Pentagon -- although the tensions have since thawed somewhat.
From Barron's ● May 28, 2026
We didn’t have a tree, and if it hadn’t been for the ham that Mr. Ballard sent home to all his employees, I think we would have been celebrating with thawed hamburgers.
From "Okay for Now" by Gary D. Schmidt
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
The fire’s aftermath was just as bad, with cleanup crews having to contend with removing 89 million pounds of thawing, rotting meat, debris and other material.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 23, 2026
Melting glaciers and thawing permafrost can also destabilise mountain slopes, increasing the risk of landslides and other hazards.
From Barron's ● Aug. 29, 2026
The cyclical freezing and thawing of soil also brings old shells to the surface, Goldammer said, much as flower beds can seem to produce fresh stones every winter.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026
Things were even thawing slightly between Cap and my daughter.
From "Schooled" by Gordon Korman
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.
