verb
freeze
FREEZ
verb
1
To turn solid from cold, or to lower something's temperature until it does.
"The pond froze solid enough to skate on by January."
"She froze the leftover soup in small containers for later."
2
To suddenly become motionless, often from fear or surprise.
"He froze when he saw the snake coiled by his foot."
3
Of a machine, program, or system, to stop responding.
"My laptop froze right in the middle of the video call."
4
To stop something, such as prices, wages, or assets, from changing or moving.
"The government froze the bank accounts linked to the fraud investigation."
noun
1
A period of very cold weather, or an official halt on something changing.
"The company announced a hiring freeze until the new budget was approved."
How to Use Freeze
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishTurning solid from cold, stopping suddenly out of fear, a computer stopping responding, or officially halting something like prices or hiring.
Common pairings
freeze to death
freeze up
wage freeze
freeze in place
Word Forms
froze past tense, frore past tense, frozen past tense, freezes plural, Freezes plural, freezes singular
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Etymology
From Old English freosan, from a Proto-Germanic root meaning "to freeze," ultimately traced to a Proto-Indo-European word for frost.