freeze

Etymology

Definitions

1. 1

   Especially of a liquid, to become solid due to low temperature.

   • The lake froze solid.
   • 1855, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, The Song of Hiawatha, Book XX: The Famine, Ever thicker, thicker, thicker / Froze the ice on lake and river,
   • He got to Dawson before the river froze, and now I suppose I won't hear any more until spring.
2. 2

   To lower something's temperature to the point that it freezes or becomes hard.

   • Don't freeze meat twice.
   • 1888, Elias Lönnrot, John Martin Crawford (translator, from German), The Kalevala, Rune XXX: The Frost-fiend, Freeze the wizard in his vessel, / Freeze to ice the wicked Ahti, ...
3. 3

   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.
4. ›+ 17 more definitionsshow fewer

   1. 4

      To be affected by extreme cold.

      • It's freezing in here!
      • Don't go outside wearing just a t-shirt; you'll freeze!
      • Far unfit to bear the bitter cold, / I can scarcely move or draw my breath? / Let me, let me freeze again to death.
   2. 5

      Of a machine or system, to come to a sudden halt, to stop working (functioning).

      • Since the last update, the program freezes after a few minutes of use.
   3. 6

      Of a person or other animal, to stop (become motionless) or be stopped due to…

      Of a person or other animal, to stop (become motionless) or be stopped due to attentiveness, fear, surprise, etc.

      • Despite all of the rehearsals, I froze as soon as I got on stage.
      • As Tarzan rose upon the body of his kill to scream forth his hideous victory cry into the face of the moon the wind carried to his nostrils something which froze him to statuesque immobility and silence.
      • They froze on their knees, their faces turned upward with a ghastly blue hue in the sudden glare of a weird light that burst blindingly up near the lofty roof and then burned with a throbbing glow.
   4. 7

      To cause someone to become motionless.

      • Dr Constantine sniggered and Mrs Hubbard immediately froze him with a glance.
   5. 8

      To lose or cause to lose warmth of feeling

      To lose or cause to lose warmth of feeling; to shut out; to ostracize.

      • Over time, he froze towards her, and ceased to react to her friendly advances.
      • The other side to this sunny gladness of natural love is his pity for their sufferings when their own mother's heart seems to freeze towards them.
      • His friends begin to freeze towards him, the pillars of society cut him publicly, his clients cool off, big business deals no longer come his way, he is increasingly conscious of social ostracism and the puzzled misgivings of his wife.
   6. 9

      To cause loss of animation or life in, from lack of heat

      To cause loss of animation or life in, from lack of heat; to give the sensation of cold to; to chill.

      • A faint, cold fear runs through my veins, / That almost freezes up the heat of life.
   7. 10

      To prevent the movement or liquidation of a person's financial assets

      • The court froze the criminal's bank account.
   8. 11

      Of prices, spending etc., to keep at the same level, without any increase.

      • The headline promise in the Liberal Democrat manifesto is to freeze rail fares for commuters and season ticket holders for the duration of a Parliament.
   9. 12

      To prevent from showing any visible change.

      • Pressing the pause button will freeze the video playback.
      • Playback will freeze if you pause the video.
   10. 13

       To trap (the puck) so that it cannot be played.

   11. 14

       A period of intensely cold weather.

       • In order to work properly, the cotton stripper required that the plant be brown and brittle, as happened after a freeze, so that the cotton bolls could snap off easily.
   12. 15

       A halt of a regular operation.

       • Without a freeze it might be possible to proceed with the production and deployment of such destabilizing systems as the MX, Trident II, cruise missiles and SS-18s, -19s and -20s.
       • 1983 October 3, Ted Kennedy, speech, Truth and Tolerance in America, Critics may oppose the nuclear freeze for what they regard as moral reasons.
       • Many of our opponents in Congress are advocating a freeze in Federal spending and an increase in taxes.
   13. 16

       The state when either a single computer program, or the whole system ceases to respond to…

       The state when either a single computer program, or the whole system ceases to respond to inputs.

   14. 17

       A precise draw weight shot where a delivered stone comes to a stand-still against a…

       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.

   15. 18

       A block on pay rises or on the hiring of new employees etc.

       • a hiring freeze;  a pay freeze
   16. 19

       Obsolete form of frieze.

   17. 20

       A surname.

The neighborhood

• neighborfrore
• neighborfrorn
• neighborfrory
• neighborfrost
• neighborfrosty