to become hardened into ice or into a solid body; change from the liquid to the solid state by loss of heat.
2.
to become hard or stiffened because of loss of heat, as objects containing moisture: Meat will freeze in a few hours.
3.
to suffer the effects of intense cold; have the sensation of extreme cold: We sat there freezing until the heat came on.
4.
to be of the degree of cold at which water freezes: It may freeze tonight.
5.
to lose warmth of feeling; be stunned or chilled with fear, shock, etc.: My heart froze when she told me the news.
6.
to become immobilized through fear, shock, etc.: When he got in front of the audience he froze.
7.
to stop suddenly and remain motionless; halt: I froze in my tracks.
8.
to become obstructed by the formation of ice, as pipes: Our basement water pipes often freeze in winter.
9.
to die or be injured because of frost or cold.
10.
(of a screw, nail, or the like) to become rigidly fixed in place, as from rust or dirt.
11.
to become fixed to something by or as if by the action of frost.
12.
to become unfriendly, secretive, or aloof (often fol. by up): He froze at such a personal question.
13.
to become temporarily inoperable; cease to function (often fol. by up): The new software made my computer freeze.
–verb (used with object)
14.
to harden into ice; change from a fluid to a solid form by loss of heat; congeal.
15.
to form ice on the surface of (a river, pond, etc.).
16.
to harden or stiffen (an object containing moisture) by cold.
17.
to quick-freeze.
18.
to subject to freezing temperature; place in a freezer or in the freezing compartment of a refrigerator.
19.
to cause to suffer the effects of intense cold; produce the sensation of extreme cold in.
20.
to cause to lose warmth as if by cold; chill with fear; dampen the enthusiasm of.
21.
to cause (a person or animal) to become fixed through fright, alarm, shock, etc.: Terror froze him to the steering wheel.
22.
to kill by frost or cold: A late snow froze the buds.
23.
to fix fast with ice: a sled frozen to a sidewalk.
24.
to obstruct or close (a pipe or the like) by the formation of ice: The storm had frozen the hydrant.
25.
to fix (rents, prices, etc.) at a specific amount, usually by government order.
26.
to stop or limit production, use, or development of: an agreement to freeze nuclear weapons.
27.
Finance. to render impossible of liquidation or collection: Bank loans are frozen in business depressions.
28.
Surgery. to render part of the body insensitive to pain or slower in its function by artificial means.
29.
Cards.
a.
Canasta. to play a wild card on (the discard pile) so as to make it frozen.
b.
Poker. to eliminate (other players) in a game of freezeout.
30.
to photograph (a moving subject) at a shutter speed fast enough to produce an unblurred, seemingly motionless image.
31.
Movies. to stop by means of a freeze-frame mechanism: You can freeze the action at any point.
32.
Sports. to maintain possession of (a ball or puck) for as long as possible, usually without trying to score, thereby reducing the opponent's opportunities for scoring.
33.
Ice Hockey. to hold (a puck) against the boards with the skates or stick, causing play to stop and forcing a face-off.
–noun
34.
the act of freezing; state of being frozen.
35.
Also called ice-up.Meteorology. a widespread occurrence of temperatures below 32°F (0°C) persisting for at least several days: A freeze is expected in the coastal areas.
36.
a frost.
37.
a legislative action, esp. in time of national emergency, to control prices, rents, production, etc.: The government put a freeze on new construction.
38.
a decision by one or more nations to stop or limit production or development of weapons, esp. nuclear weapons.
—Verb phrases
39.
freeze on or onto, Informal. to adhere closely to; hold on; seize.
40.
freeze out, to exclude or compel (somebody) to withdraw from membership, acceptance, a position of influence or advantage, etc., by cold treatment or severe competition.
41.
freeze over, to coat or become coated with ice: The lake freezes over for several months each year.
[Origin: bef. 1000; (v.) ME fresen, OE fréosan; c. MLG vrésen, ON frjōsa, OHG friosan (G frieren); (n.) late ME frese, deriv. of the v.]
To pass from the liquid to the solid state by loss of heat.
To acquire a surface or coat of ice from cold: The lake froze over in January. Bridges freeze before the adjacent roads.
To become fixed, stuck, or attached by or as if by frost: The lock froze up with rust.
To stop functioning properly, usually temporarily: My computer screen froze when I opened the infected program.
To become motionless or immobile, as from surprise or attentiveness: I heard a sound and froze in my tracks.
To become unable to act or speak, as from fear: froze in front of the audience.
To become clogged or jammed because of the formation of ice: The pipes froze in the basement.
To be at that degree of temperature at which ice forms: It may freeze tonight.
To be killed or harmed by cold or frost: They almost froze to death. Mulch keeps garden plants from freezing.
To be or feel uncomfortably cold: Aren't you freezing without a coat?
To become fixed, stuck, or attached by or as if by frost: The lock froze up with rust.
To stop functioning properly, usually temporarily: My computer screen froze when I opened the infected program.
To become motionless or immobile, as from surprise or attentiveness: I heard a sound and froze in my tracks.
To become unable to act or speak, as from fear: froze in front of the audience.
To become motionless or immobile, as from surprise or attentiveness: I heard a sound and froze in my tracks.
To become unable to act or speak, as from fear: froze in front of the audience.
To become rigid and inflexible; solidify: an opinion that froze into dogma.
v.
tr.
To convert into ice.
To cause ice to form upon.
To cause to congeal or stiffen from extreme cold: winter cold that froze the ground.
To fix (prices or wages, for example) at a given or current level.
To prohibit further manufacture or use of.
To prevent or restrict the exchange, withdrawal, liquidation, or granting of by governmental action: freeze investment loans during a depression; froze foreign assets held by U.S. banks.
To photograph (a subject) in mid-action so as to produce a still image.
To stop (a moving film) at a particular image.
To preserve (foods, for example) by subjecting to freezing temperatures.
To damage, kill, or make inoperative by cold or by the formation of ice.
To make very cold; chill.
To immobilize, as with fear or shock.
To chill with an icy or formal manner: froze me with one look.
To stop the motion or progress of: The negotiations were frozen by the refusal of either side to compromise.
To fix (prices or wages, for example) at a given or current level.
To prohibit further manufacture or use of.
To prevent or restrict the exchange, withdrawal, liquidation, or granting of by governmental action: freeze investment loans during a depression; froze foreign assets held by U.S. banks.
To photograph (a subject) in mid-action so as to produce a still image.
To stop (a moving film) at a particular image.
To capture or preserve a likeness of, as on film.
To photograph (a subject) in mid-action so as to produce a still image.
To stop (a moving film) at a particular image.
To anesthetize by chilling.
Sports To keep possession of (a ball or puck) so as to deny an opponent the opportunity to score.
n.
The act of freezing.
The state of being frozen.
A spell of cold weather; a frost.
A restriction that forbids a quantity from rising above a given or current level: a freeze on city jobs; a proposed freeze on the production of nuclear weapons.
Phrasal Verb(s): freeze out
To shut out or exclude, as by cold or unfriendly treatment: The others tried to freeze me out of the conversation.
Idiom(s):
freeze (someone's) blood
To affect with terror or dread; horrify: a scream that froze my blood.
[Middle English fresen, from Old English frēosan; see preus- in Indo-European roots.]
freez'a·ble adj.
Word History: Describing the landscape of Hell in Book II of Paradise Lost, Milton depicts "a frozen Continent . . . beat with perpetual storms . . . the parching Air Burns frore, and cold performs th' effect of Fire." It is evident from these lines that frore has some relationship to frozen, but what exactly is it? The Modern English paradigm for the verb freeze is freeze, froze, frozen, with a z throughout. However, in Old English, the principal parts were frēosan, frēas, froren. The r in the past participle froren is from a prehistoric s that became r by Verner's Law, a sound shift that changed s in certain positions into r. (The effects of Verner's Law can also be seen in such modern English pairs as was and were, and lose and (love-)lorn.) During the Middle English period, a new past participle frosen was created using the s from the first two principal parts; this survives as frozen nowadays. The older participle, spelled froren or frore in Middle English, lived on as a poetic word for "cold," but well before Milton's day it had become archaic in the standard language.
O.E. freosan "turn to ice" (class II strong verb; past tense freas, pp. froren), from P.Gmc. *freusanan (cf. O.N. frjosa, O.H.G. friosan, Ger. frieren "to freeze," Goth. frius "frost"), from P.Gmc. *freus-, equivalent to PIE base *preus- "to freeze," also "to burn" (cf. Skt. prusva, L. pruina "hoarfrost," Welsh rhew "frost," Skt. prustah "burnt," Albanian prus "burning coals," L. pruna "a live coal"). Transitive sense first recorded 14c., figurative sense c.1400. Meaning "become rigid or motionless" first recorded 1848, in "Jane Eyre." Sense of "fix at a certain level, make non-transactable" is 1922. Archaic frore "frosty, frozen" can be found in poetry as late as Keats; it is from O.E. frorer, pp. of freosan. First record of freezer in reference to a machine for keeping things very cold is from 1847. Freeze frame is from 1960, originally "a briefly Frozen Shot after the Jingle to allow ample time for Change over at the end of a T.V. 'Commercial.' " ["ABC of Film & TV," 1960].
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This Main Entry: freeze Pronunciation: 'frEz Function: verb Inflected Form: froze/'frOz/; fro·zen/'frOz-&n/;freez·ing intransitive senses 1: to become hardened into a solid (as ice) by loss of heat 2 a: to become chilled with coldfroze to death> b: to anesthetize a part especially by cold freezetransitive senses 1: to cause to harden into a solid (asice) by loss of heat 2: to make extremely cold :CHILL 3 a: to act on usuallydestructively by frost b: to anesthetize by cold
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law - Cite This Source - Share This Main Entry: freeze Function: transitive verb Inflected Forms: froze; fro·zen; freez·ing 1: to cause to become fixed, immovable,unavailable, or unalterable <freeze interest rates> 2: to immobilize (as by government regulation or the action of a financial institution) the expenditure, withdrawal,or exchange of <freeze foreign assets> 3: to restructure (the capital of a close corporation) so that the value is reflected mostly in preferred stock rather than commonstock NOTE: Once capital is frozen, the common shares can be transferred to the heirs of the owner without taxation while the owner continues to enjoy the income from preferred stock dividendsduring his or her lifetime. —freezenoun
freeze To lock an evolving software distribution or document against changes so it can be released with some hope of stability. Carries the strong implication that the item in question will "unfreeze" at some future date. There are more specific constructions on this term. A "feature freeze", for example, locks out modifications intended to introduce new features but still allows bugfixes and completion of existing features; a "code freeze" connotes no more changes at all. At Sun Microsystems and elsewhere, one may also hear references to "code slush" - that is, an almost-but-not-quite frozen state. [The Jargon File]
v. To lock an evolving software distribution or document against changes so it can be released with some hope of stability. Carries the strong implication that the item in question will `unfreeze' at some future date. "OK, fix that bug and we'll freeze for release."
There are more specific constructions on this term. A `feature freeze', for example, locks out modifications intended to introduce new features but still allows bugfixes and completion of existing features; a `code freeze' connotes no more changes at all. At Sun Microsystems and elsewhere, one may also hear references to `code slush' -- that is, an almost-but-not-quite frozen state.
Freeze\, v. i. [imp. Froze; p. p. Frozen; p. pr. & vb. n. Freezing.] [OE. fresen, freosen, AS. fre['o]san; akin to D. vriezen, OHG. iosan, G. frieren, Icel. frjsa, Sw. frysa, Dan. fryse, Goth. frius cold, frost, and prob. to L. prurire to itch, E. prurient, cf. L. prna a burning coal, pruina hoarfrost, Skr. prushv[=a] ice, prush to spirt. ? 18. Cf. Frost.]1. To become congealed by cold; to be changed from a liquid to a solid state by the abstraction of heat; to be hardened into ice or a like solid body. Note: Water freezes at 32[deg] above zero by Fahrenheit's thermometer; mercury freezes at 40[deg] below zero. 2. To become chilled with cold, or as with cold; to suffer loss of animation or life by lack of heat; as, the blood freezes in the veins. To freeze up (Fig.), to become formal and cold in demeanor. [Colloq.]
Freeze\, v. t. 1. To congeal; to harden into ice; to convert from a fluid to a solid form by cold, or abstraction of heat. 2. 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. --Shak.
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Audio Help [freez] Pronunciation Key verb, froze, fro·zen, freez·ing, noun 
