brain freeze

plural brain freezes

1. informaluncountableusuallyA pain in the head from eating or drinking something cold; a cold-stimulus headache.

   Still, why do some people get brain freezes while others can chug a milkshake with impunity? […] For one, the research indicates brain freeze seems to run in families – if your parents have ice cream headaches, you're likely to as well.

   2026 May 30, Elizabeth Anne Brown, “Brain freeze? Ice cream headaches can reveal a surprising amount about your health”, in BBC, archived from the original on 06 Jun 2026

   Synonyms: ice cream headache

2. uncountableusuallyhuman sciencesFailure to remember something, with the sense that recall is imminent.

   I apologize for giving you another name a moment ago, that was a brain freeze on my part.

   2006, Paul Rodriguez, “Talking brains: a cognitive semantic analysis of an emerging folk neuropsychology”, in Public Understanding of Science, volume 15, page 311

   2 more examples

   I call it a brain freeze at this age, but whenever you have some kind of a problem remembering something, you think, oh, you know, you automatically think about Alzheimer’s.

   2011, James N. Laditka et al., "Older adults' concerns about cognitive health: commonalities and differences among six United States ethnic groups", Ageing and Society, vol. 31 (7), p. 1214

   Call it a brain freeze, another 'Aleppo moment,' or a mere campaign stumble, but Gary Johnson has stumbled again in his quixotic presidential campaign.

   2016 September 29, Josh Lederman, Patrick Mairs, “Brain freeze? Gary Johnson can’t name favorite world leader”, in PBS NewsHour, Associated Press, archived from the original on 08 Mar 2018

   Synonyms: tip of the tongue, presque vu