freeze

verb
UK: /friːz/
US: /friːz/

  1. To turn into ice or become solid because of extreme cold.

    1. Water can freeze if the temperature drops below 0°C. [ ] [ ]
    2. The lake will freeze over if it gets cold enough this winter making skating possible. [ ] [ ]

  2. To become very cold; to feel extremely cold.

    1. I'm freezing! Can I close the window, please? [ ] [ ]
    2. We were freezing as we waited for the bus on that bitterly cold morning. [ ] [ ]

  3. To stop moving suddenly and remain still.

    1. When the teacher walked in, the students froze. [ ] [ ]
    2. The rabbit froze in the headlights, unsure of which way to run from the car. [ ] [ ]

  4. To preserve food by cooling it to a very low temperature.

    1. We should freeze the leftover soup for later. [ ] [ ]
    2. We freeze all the fresh berries we pick in the summer so we can enjoy them later. [ ] [ ]

  5. To fix or hold at a specific level or rate.

    1. The government decided to freeze prices for a year. [ ] [ ]
    2. The company decided to freeze hiring due to the current economic downturn. [ ] [ ]

Synonyms

solidify ice chill stop halt pause preserve refrigerate
freeze noun

  1. A period of very cold weather.

    1. We had a hard freeze last night. [ ] [ ]
    2. The early freeze damaged many of the crops in the region this year. [ ] [ ]

  2. An act of fixing something at a particular level.

    1. There was a freeze on pay increases last year. [ ] [ ]
    2. The government imposed a price freeze to combat inflation in the economy. [ ] [ ]
freeze adjective

  1. Stored at a very low temperature; suitable for freezing.

    1. I bought freeze dried coffee. [ ] [ ]
    2. These are freeze dried vegetables, so you can keep them for long. [ ] [ ]
freeze idiom

  1. An interruption of activity or progress.

    1. The talks are in a deep freeze after the recent disagreements. [ ] [ ]
    2. Our plans for expansion are in deep freeze until we secure additional funding. [ ] [ ]

Frequently Asked Questions

The word "freeze" in English means: To turn into ice or become solid because of extreme cold., To become very cold; to feel extremely cold., To stop moving suddenly and remain still., To preserve food by cooling it to a very low temperature., To fix or hold at a specific level or rate..

The phonetic transcription of "freeze" is /friːz/ in British English and /friːz/ in American English. Click the 🔊 button to hear both pronunciations.

Synonyms for "freeze": solidify, ice, chill, stop, halt, pause, preserve, refrigerate.

Example usage of "freeze": "Water can freeze if the temperature drops below 0°C.". More examples on the page.