freeze

The word “freeze” means to turn solid from cold, or to lower something's temperature until it does. In plain terms, turning solid from cold, stopping suddenly out of fear, a computer stopping responding, or officially halting something like prices or hiring.

“Freeze” is pronounced FREEZ (/ˈfɹiːz/ in IPA).

Here is “freeze” used in a sentence: “The company announced a hiring freeze until the new budget was approved.”

Depending on how it is used, “freeze” can be a verb and a noun.

The word “freeze” comes from Old English. From Old English freosan, from a Proto-Germanic root meaning "to freeze," ultimately traced to a Proto-Indo-European word for frost.

“Freeze” is a fairly common word in modern English, usually learned at around the A2 level.

“Freeze” has 5 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: to turn solid from cold, or to lower something's temperature until it does.

To "freeze" is to turn solid from cold, or to lower something's temperature until it does. "Frost" refers to the thin layer of ice crystals that forms on surfaces in cold weather, and as a verb means to cover with that layer.

"Freeze" is an irregular verb: its past tense is "froze" and its past participle is "frozen," as in "the lake froze" and "the lake has frozen." The present participle is "freezing."

Use "freeze" figuratively when someone suddenly becomes motionless, often from fear or surprise, as in "she froze when she heard the noise." The command "Freeze!" tells a person to stop moving instantly.

To "freeze" is to lower temperature until something turns solid, while to "chill" is to make something cold without freezing it solid. You chill drinks in a fridge but freeze water into ice.