freeze
verb
\ ËfrÄz
\
\
froze\ ËfrĆz
\;
frozen\ ËfrĆ-zá”n
\;
freezing
\;
frozen\ ËfrĆ-zá”n
\;
freezing
Definition of freeze
(Entry 1 of 2)
1a
: to become congealed into ice by cold
b
: to solidify as a result of abstraction of heat
c
: to withstand freezing
the bread freezes well
2
: to become chilled with cold
almost froze to death
3
: to adhere solidly by or as if by freezing
pressure caused the metals to freeze
4
: to become fixed or motionless
especially
: to become incapable of acting or speaking
5
: to become clogged with ice
the water pipes froze
1a
: to harden into ice
b
: to convert from a liquid to a solid by cold
2
: to make extremely cold : chill
3a
: to act on usually destructively by frost
b
: to anesthetize by cold
4
: to cause to grip tightly or remain in immovable contact
5a
: to cause to become fixed, immovable, unavailable, or unalterable
freeze interest rates
b
: to immobilize by governmental regulation the expenditure, withdrawal, or exchange of
freeze foreign assets
c
: to render motionless
a fake froze the defender
6
: to attempt to retain continuous possession of (a ball or puck) without an attempt to score usually in order to protect a small lead
freeze
nounDefinition of freeze (Entry 2 of 2)
1a
: an act or instance of freezing
b
: the state of being frozen
2
: a state of weather marked by low temperature especially when below the freezing point
3
: a halt in the production, testing, and deployment of military weapons
a nuclear freeze
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Synonyms & Antonyms for freeze
Synonyms: Verb
concrete, congeal, firm (up), harden, indurate, set, solidify
Synonyms: Noun
cold, cold wave, deep freeze, snap
Antonyms: Verb
liquefy (also liquify), soften
Antonyms: Noun
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Examples of freeze in a Sentence
Verb
The children are going to freeze out there without their coats. The cold weather froze the water pipes.Noun
The freeze destroyed many oranges. the Midwest will experience an intense freeze later in the week
Recent Examples on the Web: Verb
The protesters Sunday were urging passage in Washington of the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act, a bipartisan bill that would freeze assets of Hong Kong officials who harm civic freedoms and deny them entry to the United States. — Los Angeles Times, "âThe whole system is rotten. We want to tear it downâ: Hong Kong protests blaze on," 8 Sep. 2019 During the experiment, the research team was watching to see if and when the voles froze, a common prey behavior that, in this case, would indicate that the rodents had seen the owl. — Brigit Katz, Smithsonian, "Moonlight Helps White Barn Owls Stun Their Prey," 4 Sep. 2019 Some firms, doing battle for talent via perks, offer even more, like shipping chilled or frozen breastmilk back home for nursing mothers on work travel. — Cassie Werber, Quartz at Work, "Documenting the comedy, beauty, and pain of pumping breastmilk at work," 30 Aug. 2019 Wear gloves if needed, use a very sharp knife, and make sure the chicken is slightly frozen to make quick work of chopping it into dime-sized pieces. — Cathy Barrow, The Denver Post, "The good old cabbage roll turns over a new leaf," 26 Aug. 2019 And continue to watch as Alicia â who has been on a zombie-slaying rampage all season long â suddenly freezes when attacked by a walker. — Dalton Ross, EW.com, "Watch an awesome Fear the Walking Dead zombie decapitation," 23 Aug. 2019 But if businesses and consumers in the United States and around the world start to panic, or freeze over uncertainty about what might happen next in trade or other global affairs, the outcome could be much worse. — oregonlive.com, "Hereâs what the data say about how bad the next recession will be," 17 Aug. 2019 Tofutti, an original icon of nondairy frozen treat space, was created so that Jews who kept kosher could avoid mixing milk and meat and still have ice cream for dessert. — Rachel Sugar, Vox, "Oatly and the quest for the perfect alt-milk," 14 Aug. 2019 Establishing a hiring and expenses freeze. Authorizing city leadership to take steps to settle two lawsuits and three civil tort claims. — Lex Talamo, The Seattle Times, "The mayor of Wapato wanted another term. She got 30 votes â and then a piece of the fed-up residentsâ minds.," 10 Aug. 2019Recent Examples on the Web: Noun
In the spring, apply the pre-emergents for crabgrass, grassburs and other summer grassy annuals about two weeks prior to the average date of your last killing freeze for your part of the state, with a follow-up treatment 90 days later. — Neil Sperry, ExpressNews.com, "Star jasmine death mystery: could it be the roots?," 6 Sep. 2019 To mitigate the damage, Macri announced a series of relief measures, including increases in the minimum wage, welfare subsidies, tax cuts, temporary freezes to gasoline prices, and loans for small and medium-sized businesses. — Stephania Taladrid, The New Yorker, "Argentina Considers a Return to Peronism," 28 Aug. 2019 These palms suffer little to no freeze damage in much of the country and rarely, if ever, need wrapping. — Howard Garrett, Dallas News, "Want to grow palm trees? These choices actually tolerate cold and shade," 26 Aug. 2019 This keeps the plants protected from winter freezes. — Arricca Sansone And Rebekah Lowin, Country Living, "How to Grow Fall Mums," 16 Aug. 2019 Beyond cybersecurity, the departmentâs 2017 hiring freeze also undermined overseas youth programs, AIDS initiatives, counternarcotics programs, and more. — Justin Rohrlich, Quartz, "The US State Departmentâs 2017 hiring freeze put classified information at risk," 9 Aug. 2019 While credit freezes are one of the most effective defenses available, other options include implementing fraud alerts, credit monitoring, and good password hygiene. — Robert Hackett, Fortune, "After Capital One, Equifax, Marriott, and the Rest, Just Assume Your Data Has Been HackedâCyber Saturday," 3 Aug. 2019 That will help buffer the fishery from extended periods of freshwater runoff or extensive fish kills from freezes, habitat loss and steadily increasing fishing pressure. — Shannon Tompkins, ExpressNews.com, "Texas hunters, anglers in for big rule changes," 16 Aug. 2019 One wanted to help Texans 65 and older, their surviving spouses and disabled people with an across-the-board tax freeze, not just school taxes, but city, county, hospital and college districts, too. — Dallas News, "This is how Texas lawmakers avoided true property tax reform and instead gave us fluff and stuff," 5 July 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'freeze.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.