TOP

Definition of freeze verb from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

freeze

verb
 
 
/friːz/
 
/friːz/
Verb Forms
present simple I / you / we / they freeze
 
/friːz/
 
/friːz/
he / she / it freezes
 
/ˈfriːzɪz/
 
/ˈfriːzɪz/
past simple froze
 
/frəʊz/
 
/frəʊz/
past participle frozen
 
/ˈfrəʊzn/
 
/ˈfrəʊzn/
-ing form freezing
 
/ˈfriːzɪŋ/
 
/ˈfriːzɪŋ/
Idioms Phrasal Verbs
jump to other results

    become ice

  1.  
     [intransitive, transitive] to become hard, and often turn to ice, as a result of extreme cold; to make something do this
    • Water freezes at 0°C.
    • It's so cold that even the river has frozen.
    • freeze something The cold weather had frozen the ground.
    • freeze + adj. The clothes froze solid on the washing line.
    • freeze something + adj. The frost had frozen the ground hard.
    • Last year's cold spell froze the lake solid.
    opposite thawTopics Weatherb1
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb
    • solid
    • over
    • up
    • …
    preposition
    • into
    phrases
    • freeze to death
    See full entry
    2.

    of pipe/lock/machine

  2.  
     [intransitive, transitive] if a pipe, lock or machine freezes, or something freezes it, it becomes blocked with frozen liquid and therefore cannot be used
    • The pipes have frozen, so we've got no water.
    • freeze up I kept the car running to stop the engine freezing up.
    • freeze something Ten degrees of frost had frozen the lock on the car.
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb
    • solid
    • over
    • up
    • …
    preposition
    • into
    phrases
    • freeze to death
    See full entry
    3.

    of weather

  3.  
     [intransitive] when it freezes, the weather is at or below 0° Celsius
    • It may freeze tonight, so bring those plants inside.
    4.

    be very cold

  4.  
     [intransitive, transitive] to be very cold; to be so cold that you die
    • Every time she opens the window we all freeze.
    • Two men froze to death on the mountain.
    • freeze somebody Two men were frozen to death on the mountain.
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb
    • solid
    • over
    • up
    • …
    preposition
    • into
    phrases
    • freeze to death
    See full entry
    5.

    food

  5.  
     [transitive] freeze something to keep something, especially food, at a very low temperature in order to preserve it
    • Can you freeze this cake?
    • The organ samples were immediately frozen in liquid nitrogen.
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb
    • well
    See full entry
  6. [intransitive] to be able to be kept at a very low temperature
    • Some fruits freeze better than others.
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb
    • well
    See full entry
    7.

    stop moving

  7. [intransitive] to stop moving suddenly because of fear, etc.
    • I froze with terror as the door slowly opened.
    • (figurative) The smile froze on her lips.
    • The police officer shouted ‘Freeze!’ and the man dropped the gun.
    • Suddenly, Ronny seemed to freeze.
    • He was so surprised he froze to the spot.
    • Maggie's face had frozen into a cold mask.
    • She froze with horror when she saw the body.
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb
    • suddenly
    • for a moment
    • for a second
    • …
    verb + freeze
    • seem to
    preposition
    • in
    • with
    • into
    • …
    phrases
    • freeze to the spot
    • freeze on the spot
    See full entry
    8.

    computer

  8. [intransitive] when a computer screen freezes, you cannot move any of the images, etc. on it, because there is a problem with the systemTopics Computersc2

    9. film/movie

  9. [transitive] freeze something to stop a film or video in order to look at a particular picture
    • Freeze the action there!
    see also freeze-frameTopics Film and theatrec2

    10. wages/prices

  10. [transitive] freeze something to hold wages, prices, etc. at a fixed level for a period of time synonym peg
    • Salaries have been frozen for the current year.
    • Prices have been frozen at this level for over a year now.
    Topics Moneyc1
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb
    • effectively
    preposition
    • at
    See full entry
    11.

    money/bank account

  11. [transitive] freeze something to prevent money, a bank account, etc. from being used by getting a court order which bans it
    • The company's assets have been frozen.
    Topics Moneyc1
    12. Word OriginOld English frēosan (in the phrase hit frēoseth ‘it is freezing’), of Germanic origin; related to Dutch vriezen and German frieren, from an Indo-European root shared by Latin pruina ‘hoar frost’ and frost.
Idioms
freeze your blood | make your blood freeze
  1. to make you extremely frightened or shockedTopics Feelingsc2
freeze/stop/halt in your tracks
  1. to suddenly stop because something has frightened or surprised you
    • Jess froze in her tracks and took a deep breath.
stop/halt somebody in their tracks | stop/halt/freeze in your tracks
  1. to suddenly make somebody stop by frightening or surprising them; to suddenly stop because something has frightened or surprised you
    • The question stopped Alice in her tracks.
    • Suddenly he stopped dead in his tracks: what was he doing?
    • (figurative) The disease was stopped in its tracks by immunization programmes.
    Topics Feelingsc2
See freeze in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee freeze in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic English
Check pronunciation: freeze

Nearby words

dizzy
adjective
 
 
From the Topic
Health problems
C1
Oxford Learner's Dictionaries Word of the Day