freeze

present singular third person freezes · participle present freezing · past froze · archaic past frore · participle past frozen · colloquial participle past froze · archaic participle past frore

1. copulativeintransitiveEspecially of a liquid, to become solid due to low temperature.

   The lake froze solid.

   3 more examples

   1855, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, The Song of Hiawatha, Book XX: The Famine, Ever thicker, thicker, thicker / Froze the ice on lake and river,

   He got to Dawson before the river froze, and now I suppose I won't hear any more until spring.

   1913 June, Willa Sibert Cather, “Winter Memories”, in O Pioneers!, Boston, Mass.; New York, N.Y.: Houghton Mifflin Company […], →OCLC

   1915, Eleanor Stackhouse Atkinson, The How and Why Library: Wonders, Section II: Water, Running water does not freeze as easily as still water.

   Synonyms: solidify · Antonyms: defrost, liquify, unfreeze

2. transitiveTo lower something's temperature to the point that it freezes or becomes hard.

   Don't freeze meat twice.

   1 more example

   1888, Elias Lönnrot, John Martin Crawford (translator, from German), The Kalevala, Rune XXX: The Frost-fiend, Freeze the wizard in his vessel, / Freeze to ice the wicked Ahti, ...

3. intransitiveTo drop to a temperature below zero degrees celsius, where water turns to ice.

   It didn't freeze this winter, but last winter was very harsh.

4. informalintransitiveTo be affected by extreme cold.

   It's freezing in here!

   2 more examples

   Don't go outside wearing just a t-shirt; you'll freeze!

   Far unfit to bear the bitter cold, / I can scarcely move or draw my breath? / Let me, let me freeze again to death.

   1691, “What Power Art Thou? (The Cold Song)”, in John Dryden (lyrics), Henry Purcell (music), King Arthur

5. idiomaticintransitivecomputingOf a machine or system, to come to a sudden halt, to stop working (functioning).

   Since the last update, the program freezes after a few minutes of use.

   Synonyms: freeze up, grind to a halt, hang, lock up, seize, seize up

6. idiomaticintransitiveOf a person or other animal, to stop (become motionless) or be stopped due to attentiveness, fear, surprise, etc.

   Despite all of the rehearsals, I froze as soon as I got on stage.

   2 more examples

   As Tarzan rose upon the body of his kill to scream forth his hideous victory cry into the face of the moon the wind carried to his nostrils something which froze him to statuesque immobility and silence.

   1916, Edgar Rice Burroughs, chapter III, in Tarzan and the Jewels of Opar

   They froze on their knees, their faces turned upward with a ghastly blue hue in the sudden glare of a weird light that burst blindingly up near the lofty roof and then burned with a throbbing glow.

   1935, Robert E. Howard, chapter IV, in Jewels of Gwahlur

   Synonyms: freeze up

7. transitiveTo cause someone to become motionless.

   Dr Constantine sniggered and Mrs Hubbard immediately froze him with a glance.

   1934, Agatha Christie, chapter 4, in Murder on the Orient Express, London: HarperCollins, published 2017, page 102

   Synonyms: halt, immobilize

8. figurativelyTo lose or cause to lose warmth of feeling; to shut out; to ostracize.

   Over time, he froze towards her, and ceased to react to her friendly advances.

   3 more examples

   The other side to this sunny gladness of natural love is his pity for their sufferings when their own mother's heart seems to freeze towards them.

   1898, Robert Burns, edited by John George Dow, Selections from the poems of Robert Burns, page lviii

   His friends begin to freeze towards him, the pillars of society cut him publicly, his clients cool off, big business deals no longer come his way, he is increasingly conscious of social ostracism and the puzzled misgivings of his wife.

   1968, Ronald Victor Sampson, The Psychology of Power, page 134

   If you cheat them, they don't say anything but after that they freeze towards you.

   1988, Edward Holland Spicer, Kathleen M. Sands, Rosamond B. Spicer, People of Pascua, page 37

9. To cause loss of animation or life in, from lack of heat; to give the sensation of cold to; to chill.

   A faint, cold fear runs through my veins, / That almost freezes up the heat of life.

   c. 1591–1595 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Romeo and Ivliet”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene iii]

10. transitiveTo prevent the movement or liquidation of a person's financial assets

    The court froze the criminal's bank account.

11. Of prices, spending etc., to keep at the same level, without any increase.

    The headline promise in the Liberal Democrat manifesto is to freeze rail fares for commuters and season ticket holders for the duration of a Parliament.

    2019 December 4, “Lib Dems promise fares freeze and low-emission technology”, in Rail, page 6

12. ambitransitiveTo prevent from showing any visible change.

    Playback will freeze if you pause the video.

    1 more example

    Pressing the pause button will freeze the video playback.

13. transitivehobbiesTo trap (the puck) so that it cannot be played.

plural freezes

1. A period of intensely cold weather.

   In order to work properly, the cotton stripper required that the plant be brown and brittle, as happened after a freeze, so that the cotton bolls could snap off easily.

   2009, Pietra Rivoli, The Travels of a T-shirt in the Global Economy, 2nd edition, page 38

2. A halt of a regular operation.

   1983 October 3, Ted Kennedy, speech, Truth and Tolerance in America, Critics may oppose the nuclear freeze for what they regard as moral reasons.

   2 more examples

   Without a freeze it might be possible to proceed with the production and deployment of such destabilizing systems as the MX, Trident II, cruise missiles and SS-18s, -19s and -20s.

   1982 October, William Epstein, “The freeze: a hot issue at the United Nations”, in Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists

   Many of our opponents in Congress are advocating a freeze in Federal spending and an increase in taxes.

   1985 April 27, Ronald Reagan, Presidential Radio Address

3. computingThe state when either a single computer program, or the whole system ceases to respond to inputs.

   Synonyms: hang

4. ball gamesA precise draw weight shot where a delivered stone comes to a stand-still against a stationary stone, making it nearly impossible to knock out.

   The reason I said the guard wasn't the toughest shot in curling is because, in my book, that's a shot called the freeze. A stone thrown as a freeze comes perfectly to rest directly in front of another stone, without moving it (see Figure 10-5).

   2006, Bob Weeks, Curling for Dummies, page 143

5. businessA block on pay rises or on the hiring of new employees etc.

   a hiring freeze;  a pay freeze

   1 more example

   "We need a different understanding of revenues and public expenditure. The 15-year freeze on fuel duty and lack of tax on aviation fuel are effectively a huge subsidy to those forms of travel, but they are not described as subsidy because they are foregone revenue. Yet if you invest to hold rail fares, it's seen as subsidy."

   2025 May 28, Ben Plowden talks to Anthony Lambert, “The railway is an essential public service”, in RAIL, number 1036, page 33

plural freezes

1. obsoleteObsolete form of frieze.

   1 more example

   [I]f a plaine fellow well and cleanely apparelled, either in home-ſpun ruſſet or freeze (as the ſeaſon requires) with a five pouch at his girdle, happen to appeare in his ruſticall likenes: there is a Cozen ſaies one, At which word out flies the Taker, and thus giues the onſet vpon my olde Pennyfather.

   1608, [Thomas Dekker], “Of Barnards Law”, in The Belman of London. […], London: […] [Edward Allde and Nicholas Okes] for Nathaniel Butter, →OCLC, signature F, verso

plural Freezes

1. A surname.