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
-
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
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The Egypt Game
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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:
This rapid temperature rise is causing frozen ground to thaw and coastlines to break apart.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 3, 2026
Efforts to unfreeze the market before its natural thaw are where conservatives and progressives are finding common ground.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 1, 2026
Sanchez visited Algiers on July 20 -- the first such visit by a Spanish head of government in four years -- marking a thaw in relations with Algeria.
From Barron's ● Jul. 31, 2026
The ice seemed to have started to thaw between the family members in recent years.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026
A few stalactite spears lost their grip on the ceiling and plummeted, shattering on the rock-strewn floor like falling icicles in a thaw.
From "The Smartest Kid in the Universe" by Chris Grabenstein
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
When this water freezes it expands and then, when it thaws, it gets smaller.
From BBC ● Feb. 9, 2026
Silas thaws on learning of David’s newfound success.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 2, 2026
Only moss, grass, lichens, and a few hardy flowers take root in the thin upper layer that thaws briefly in summer.
From "Julie of the Wolves" by Jean Craighead George
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
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
A month of record-shattering heat thawed the snow and sent runoff coursing into streams and rivers, leaving only minimal water in the mountains as the state heads into dry season.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 1, 2026
But mostly because, as the trees froze and ice sheathed the roads, the chill between Baba and me thawed a little.
From "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini
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
Chung’s father founded Sinokor as a joint venture with Chinese interests in 1989, when Korean-Chinese relations were thawing.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 2, 2026
As the announcement was underway, in the background a fire burned for a sixth day in a Boyle Heights warehouse, where 85 million pounds of frozen food was thawing and beginning to rot.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 24, 2026
Carbon cycling in thawing environments is highly complex, and some weathering reactions can release CO2 depending on the minerals involved.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 20, 2026
The cladding of frost on thorny branches was thawing and fat drops drip-drip-dripping.
From "Black Swan Green" by David Mitchell
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.
