Dictionary Definition
freeze
Noun
1 the withdrawal of heat to change something from
a liquid to a solid [syn: freezing]
2 weather cold enough to cause freezing [syn:
frost]
3 an interruption or temporary suspension of
progress or movement; "a halt in the arms race"; "a nuclear freeze"
[syn: halt]
4 fixing (of prices or wages etc) at a particular
level; "a freeze on hiring"
Verb
1 change to ice; "The water in the bowl froze"
[ant: boil]
2 stop moving or become immobilized; "When he saw
the police car he froze" [syn: stop
dead]
3 be cold; "I could freeze to death in this
office when the air conditioning is turned on"
4 cause to freeze; "Freeze the leftover
food"
5 stop a process or a habit by imposing a freeze
on it; "Suspend the aid to the war-torn country" [syn: suspend]
6 be very cold, below the freezing point; "It is
freezing in Kalamazoo"
7 change from a liquid to a solid when cold;
"Water freezes at 32 degrees Fahrenheit" [syn: freeze out,
freeze
down]
8 prohibit the conversion or use of (assets);
"Blocked funds"; "Freeze the assets of this hostile government"
[syn: block, immobilize, immobilise] [ant: unblock, unblock]
9 anesthetize by cold
10 suddenly behave coldly and formally; "She
froze when she saw her ex-husband" [also: frozen, froze]
User Contributed Dictionary
English
Pronunciation
- /"fri:z/
- /ˈfriːz/
- Rhymes: -iːz
Etymology
From freosan.Homophones
Noun
- A period of intensely cold weather.
- 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 halt of a regular
operation.
- Due to its current budget problems, the University has instituted a temporary hiring freeze.
- In the context of "specifically|in|_|finance": A block on pay rises.
Translations
period of cold
- Catalan: glaçada , gelada
- Czech: mráz
- Dutch: vorst, vorstperiode
- Finnish: pakkasjakso
- Spanish: helada
curling term
finance
- Dutch: bevriezing
- Finnish: jäädytys, sulku
- Italian: blocco
on salary
- Dutch: loonstop, salarisstop
- Finnish: palkkasulku
Verb
- Especially of a liquid, to become solid due to low temperature.
- The pond has frozen over.
- Vodka won't freeze in there, but beer will.
- The pond has frozen over.
- To lower something's temperature to the point that it freezes
or becomes hard.
- Don't freeze meat twice.
- To 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.
- In the context of "intransitive|informal": To be very cold.
- It's freezing in here!
- To become motionless.
- The squirrel froze when it saw the hawk overhead.
Synonyms
- sense become solid solidify
Antonyms
- sense become solid unfreeze, defrost, liquify
Translations
to become solid due to low temperature
- Breton: sonnañ
- Catalan: glaçar, gelar
- Czech: zmrznout
- Dutch: bevriezen
- Finnish: jäätyä
- French: glacer
- German: gefrieren
- Indonesian: membeku, membekukan
- Interlingua: congelar
- Japanese: 凍る (こおる, kooru), 凍らせる (こおらせる, kooraseru)
- Korean: 얼다 (eolda)
- Norwegian: fryse
- Polish: zamarzać
- Portuguese: congelar
- Romanian: îngheţa, congela
- Russian: замерзать ,замёрзнуть
- Swedish: frysa
- Turkish: donmak
to lower something's temperature to freezing
point
- Breton: skornañ
- Catalan: congelar
- Czech: zmrazit
- Dutch: bevriezen, invriezen, vriezen
- Finnish: jäädyttää, pakastaa
- French: congeler
- German: einfrieren
- Indonesian: membeku, membekukan
- Italian: raffreddare
- Japanese: 凍る (こおる, kooru), 凍らせる (こおらせる, kooraseru)
- Korean: 얼리다 (eollida)
- Norwegian: fryse
- Portuguese: congelar
- Russian: замораживать , заморозить
- Spanish: helar
- Swedish: frysa
- Turkish: dondurmak
to drop below zero
to be very cold
- Czech: mrznout
- Finnish: jäätää
to become motionless
- Breton: chom a-sav krenn
- Czech: ztuhnout or znehybnět
- Dutch: verstijven
- Finnish: jähmettyä
- French: se figer
- German: erstarren
- Indonesian: membeku, membekukan
- Italian: congelare
- Japanese: 凍る (こおる, kooru), 凍らせる (こおらせる, kooraseru)
- Korean: 얼어붙다 (eorEobutda)
- Norwegian: fryse
- Polish: zastygnąć w bezruchu
- Russian: замирать , замереть ; застывать , застыть
- Swedish: frysa
- Turkish: donmak
- ttbc Breton: reviñ, ober skorn, skornañ
- ttbc Catalan: glaçar, gelar
- ttbc Indonesian: membeku, membekukan
- ttbc Interlingua: gelar
- ttbc Italian: gelare, ghiacciare
- ttbc Japanese: 凍る (こおる, kooru), 凍らせる (こおらせる, kooraseru)
- ttbc Korean: 얼다 (eolda)
- ttbc Polish: marznąć
- ttbc Portuguese: gelar
- ttbc Romanian: îngheţa
- ttbc Swedish: frysa
- ttbc Turkish: donmak
Related terms
Derived terms
Extensive Definition
Freeze may refer to:
In music and entertainment:
- Freeez, a British dance music band, known for their 1983 hit "A-E-I-O-U"
- Freeze (breakdance move), the halting of all movement in a clever position
- Freeze (exhibition), a 1988 art show held by various UK artists in London Docklands
- Freeze (State of Disgrace song)
- Freeze (Todd Smith song)
- Freeze (Queen Elvis song)
- Freeze (Bloodline song)
- The Freeze, a punk rock band from Boston, Massachusetts
- The Freeze (UK), a punk band from Edinburgh, Scotland, pre-Cindytalk
In other usage:
- Freezing, the physical process of a liquid turning into a solid
- Freeze (computing), a condition when computer software becomes unresponsive
- Freeze (software engineering), a period of stricter rules for changing the software during its development
- Freeze drying, a method of rapidly removing moisture from food products
- Mr. Freeze, a DC comic book villain
- Nuclear freeze an agreement to cease production of new nuclear arms
See also
freeze in German: Freeze
freeze in French: Freeze
freeze in Dutch: Freeze
freeze in Japanese: フリーズ
Synonyms, Antonyms and Related Words
KO,
abide, anesthetize, anhydrate, appall, arrest, awe, balance, ballast, ban, be cold, be still, bedaze, benumb, besot, bite, bitter weather, blast, blast-freeze, bleak
weather, blight, block, blunt, brake, brine, bring to, bring up short,
change color, chatter,
check, checkmate, chill, chloroform, coast, cold snap, cold wave, cold
weather, coldcock,
congeal, corn, counterbalance, cure, cut, cut short, dam, deaden, deadlock, debar, dehydrate, depth of winter,
desensitize,
desiccate, didder, dither, dope, draw rein, drive away, drive
out, drug, dry, dry-cure, dry-salt, dull, eject, embalm, eternalize, eternize, etherize, evaporate, exclude, expel, firm, firm up, fix, force out, freeze out, freeze
solid, freeze to death, freeze-dry, freezing weather, frost, frostbite, fume, funk, glaciate, glacify, go through, grow cold,
grow pale, halt, hard
winter, harden, have a
chill, have goose pimples, hold, horrify, horripilate, ice, ice over, ice up, immobilization, immobilize, immortalize, irradiate, jerk, kayo, keep, keep alive, keep fresh, keep
quiet, kipper, knock out,
knock senseless, knock stiff, knock unconscious, lay out, lie
still, lose courage, lose heat, marinade, marinate, mark time, monumentalize, mummify, nail down, narcotize, nip, not breathe, not stir, numb, obtund, ostracize, pale, palsy, paralyze, peg, penetrate, perennialize, perish with
cold, perpetuate,
petrify, pickle, pierce, pin, pin down, preservatize, preserve, preserve from
oblivion, pull up, put paid to, put to sleep, quake, quick-freeze, quiver, raw weather, refreeze, refrigerate, regelate, reject, remain, remain motionless,
repose, rest, retain, salt, scare stiff, scare to death,
season, set, shake, shiver, shock, shudder, smoke, smoke-cure, snap, solidify, stabilitate, stabilize, stalemate, stall, stand, stand fast, stand firm,
stand still, stay, stay
put, steady, stem, stem the tide, stick, stick fast, stiffen, stop, stop cold, stop dead, stop
short, strike dumb, strike terror into, stuff, stun, stupefy, subzero weather, take
alarm, take fright, tarry,
terrify, transfix, tread water, tremble, turn color, turn pale,
winter, wintry weather,
wintry wind, zero weather