- 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 32°F. It's so cold that even the river has frozen. freeze something The cold weather had frozen the ground. + adj. The clothes froze solid on the clothesline. opposite thaw
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 freeze (up) The pipes froze up last night, so we don't have any water. freeze something (up) Ten degrees of frost had frozen the lock on the car.
- 3[intransitive] when it freezes, the weather is at or below 32° Fahrenheit or 0° Celsius It may freeze tonight, so bring those plants inside. 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. food
- 5[transitive] freeze something to keep food at a very low temperature in order to preserve it Can you freeze this cake? These meals are ideal for home freezing.
- 6[intransitive] to be able to be kept at a very low temperature Some fruits freeze better than others. 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.
- 8[intransitive] when a computer screen freezes, you cannot move any of the images, etc. on it, because there is a problem with the system movie
- 9[transitive] freeze something to stop a movie or video in order to look at a particular picture Freeze the action there! see freeze-frame salaries/prices
- 10[transitive] freeze something to hold salaries, prices, etc. at a fixed level for a period of time Salaries have been frozen for the current year. 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. Idioms
verb jump to other results
NAmE//friz//
Verb Forms present simple I / you / we / they freeze he / she / it freezes
past simple froze
past participle frozen
-ing form freezing
to make you extremely frightened or shocked
to suddenly make someone stop by frightening or surprising them; to suddenly stop because something has frightened or surprised you The question stopped Anna in her tracks. Phrasal Verbsfreeze outfreeze over
Check pronunciation: freeze