freeze
Plural: freezes
Noun
- the withdrawal of heat to change something from a liquid to a solid
- weather cold enough to cause freezing
- an interruption or temporary suspension of progress or movement
- "a nuclear freeze"
- fixing (of prices or wages etc) at a particular level
- "a freeze on hiring"
- A period of intensely cold weather.
- A halt of a regular operation.
- The state when either a single computer program, or the whole system ceases to respond to inputs.
- A precise draw weight shot where a delivered stone comes to a stand-still against a stationary stone, making it nearly impossible to knock out.
- A block on pay rises or on the hiring of new employees etc.
- Obsolete form of frieze.
Verb
Verb Forms: froze, frozen, freezing, freezes
- To become or cause to become a solid due to cold.
- stop moving or become immobilized
- change to ice
- be cold
- "I could freeze to death in this office when the air conditioning is turned on"
- cause to freeze
- "Freeze the leftover food"
- stop a process or a habit by imposing a freeze on it
- be very cold, below the freezing point
- change from a liquid to a solid when cold
- "Water freezes at 32 degrees Fahrenheit"
- prohibit the conversion or use of (assets)
- "Freeze the assets of this hostile government"
- anesthetize by cold
- suddenly behave coldly and formally
- Especially of a liquid, to become solid due to low temperature.
- To lower something's temperature to the point that it freezes or becomes hard.
- To drop to a temperature below zero degrees celsius, where water turns to ice.
- To be affected by extreme cold.
- (of machines and software) To come to a sudden halt, stop working (functioning).
- (of people and other animals) To stop (become motionless) or be stopped due to attentiveness, fear, surprise, etc.
- To cause someone to become motionless.
- To lose or cause to lose warmth of feeling; to shut out; to ostracize.
- To cause loss of animation or life in, from lack of heat; to give the sensation of cold to; to chill.
- To prevent the movement or liquidation of a person's financial assets
- Of prices, spending etc., to keep at the same level, without any increase.
- To prevent from showing any visible change.
- To trap (the puck) so that it cannot be played.
Examples
- a hiring freeze; a pay freeze
- Despite all of the rehearsals, I froze as soon as I got on stage.
- Don't freeze meat twice.
- Don't go outside wearing just a t-shirt; you'll freeze!
- It didn't freeze this winter, but last winter was very harsh.
- It's freezing in here!
- Over time, he froze towards her, and ceased to react to her friendly advances.
- Playback will freeze if you pause the video.
- Pressing the pause button will freeze the video playback.
- Since the last update, the program freezes after a few minutes of use.
- The court froze the criminal's bank account.
- The lake froze solid.
- The player watched his opponent’s expression freeze as he played a seven-letter word for 80 points.
Origin / Etymology
From Middle English fresen, from Old English frēosan (“to freeze”), from Proto-West Germanic *freusan, from Proto-Germanic *freusaną (“to frost, freeze”), from Proto-Indo-European *prews- (“to frost, freeze”).
Cognate with Scots frese (“to freeze”), North Frisian friis, friise, früüs (“to freeze”), Saterland Frisian frjoze (“to freeze”), West Frisian frieze (“to freeze”), Dutch vriezen (“to freeze”), Low German freren, freern, fresen (“to freeze”), German frieren (“to freeze”), Danish fryse (“to freeze”), Norwegian fryse, Swedish frysa (“to freeze”), Latin pruīna (“hoarfrost”), Welsh (Northern) rhew (“frost, ice”), and Sanskrit प्रुष्व (pruṣvá, “water drop, frost”).
Synonyms
block, freeze down, freeze out, freezing, frost, halt, immobilise, immobilize, stop dead, suspend, See also Thesaurus:immobilize, freeze up, grind to a halt, hang, lock up, seize, seize up, solidify
Scrabble Score: 18
freeze: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Wordfreeze: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
freeze: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary