freeze
freeze
Pronunciation
freeze: /friːz/
free-: /friː/
/f/ - voiceless labiodental fricative
/r/ - voiced alveolar approximant
/iː/ - long close front unrounded vowel
-ze: /z/
/z/ - voiced alveolar fricative
Word Form Variations
Verb:
Base form: freeze
Third-person singular present: freezes
Present participle: freezing
Past simple: froze
Past participle: frozen
Noun:
Singular: freeze
Plural: freezes
Definitions, Synonyms and Antonyms
Verb
To turn into ice or a solid state by the effect of cold.
Example: The water in the pipes will freeze if the temperature drops below zero.
Synonyms: solidify, congeal, harden, stiffen
Antonyms: melt, thaw, liquefy
To become motionless or still, often due to fear, surprise, or a command.
Example: The deer froze in the headlights.
Synonyms: stop, halt, cease, still, immobilize
Antonyms: move, proceed, continue, advance
To preserve (food) by chilling to a very low temperature.
Example: We need to freeze the leftover soup.
Synonyms: preserve, quick-freeze, deep-freeze
Antonyms: defrost, thaw
To fix (prices, wages, or assets) at a particular level, especially by official regulation.
Example: The government decided to freeze rents for the next six months.
Synonyms: fix, peg, cap, restrict, suspend
Antonyms: raise, increase, unfreeze, lift
Noun
A period of very cold weather, especially one causing ice to form.
Example: We had a hard freeze last night, and the pond is completely frozen.
Synonyms: frost, cold snap, deep freeze, winter
Antonyms: thaw, warmth, heatwave
An act or instance of becoming or making something motionless or fixed, as in a price freeze or a computer freeze.
Example: The sudden freeze in the stock market caused widespread panic.
Synonyms: halt, cessation, suspension, standstill
Antonyms: movement, continuation, activity, acceleration
Examples of Use
Newspapers/Online Publications:
"Economists are debating whether the central bank will freeze interest rates at its next meeting to combat inflation." (Reuters, July 2024)
"A sudden freeze in diplomatic relations between the two nations has raised concerns about regional stability." (The Guardian, June 2025)
"Winter storm warnings predict a hard freeze across the northern states, impacting agriculture." (AccuWeather, December 2024)
Books:
"He felt his blood freeze in his veins as he realized the truth of the situation." (From a mystery novel)
"The protagonist tried to freeze the memory of the accident out of her mind, but it haunted her every night." (From a psychological thriller)
Entertainment Mediums and Platforms:
"On the survival reality show, contestants faced the challenge of enduring a sudden freeze in the Alaskan wilderness." (Discovery Channel, April 2025)
"In the new action movie, the hero managed to freeze the bomb's timer just seconds before it detonated." (Movie review, May 2025)
"The video game character's special ability allows them to freeze time for a brief period, giving them an advantage in combat." (Gaming forum discussion, March 2025)
"Don't freeze! Just dance!" (Lyrics from a popular pop song)
General Public Discourse:
"My computer keeps having a complete freeze; I think I need to get it looked at." (Casual conversation)
"Can you freeze these berries for later? I bought too many." (Household discussion)
"I saw a deer freeze right in the middle of the road when my headlights hit it." (Anecdotal sharing)
"They put a freeze on new hiring until the budget gets approved." (Workplace discussion)
10 Quotes Using Freeze
"The very things that hold you down are going to lift you up." But they've got to freeze first." (Walt Disney, Dumbo)
"The only time you really live is when you're freezeing your ass off." (Hunter S. Thompson, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas)
"Sometimes in life, you have to freeze your emotions and just do what needs to be done." (Unknown)
"They say time will heal, but for me, time just makes the wound freeze." (Unknown)
"A man has to freeze a little to know how to appreciate the fire." (Proverb)
"If you want to freeze your progress, just keep doing the same things." (Unknown)
"Don't freeze on me now, not when we're so close." (Often used in dramatic contexts, attributed to various fictional works)
"When you freeze in fear, you miss opportunities." (Unknown)
"Let your dreams freeze only if they turn into ice sculptures you can admire." (Unknown)
"You can't freeze a moment in time, but you can cherish the memory." (Unknown)
Etymology
The word "freeze" has a long history, tracing its roots all the way back to ancient times!
It comes from an Old English word called "frēosan." This "frēosan" already meant "to turn into ice" or "to become frozen."
If you go back even further, "frēosan" itself came from an even older language called Proto-Germanic (which is like the great-grandparent of English, German, and many other European languages). In Proto-Germanic, the word was something like "freusaną," and it had a similar meaning of "to frost" or "to freeze."
And before that, it's believed to have come from a Proto-Indo-European root, "prews-," which also had the core meaning of "to frost" or "to freeze." This shows that the concept of things getting so cold they turn solid has been around in language for a very, very long time!
So, the first known use and meaning of "freeze" in English (or its direct ancestor, Old English) was firmly about water turning into ice due to cold temperatures. Over time, the word expanded to include other related ideas, like stopping suddenly or fixing something at a certain level.
Phrases + Idioms Containing Freeze
Freeze solid: To become completely frozen, often used literally for liquids or figuratively for fear.
Freeze to death: To die or be in danger of dying from extreme cold.
Freeze-frame: To stop a film or video at a single frame; to momentarily stop an action or scene.
Freeze out: To exclude someone from a group or activity, often in a hostile way.
Freeze over: For a body of water to become covered with ice.
Freeze up: To become unable to move or speak due to fear or nervousness; for a machine to stop working.
Freeze in one's tracks: To stop suddenly and completely, often due to surprise or fear.
Cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey: A very informal and vulgar idiom meaning extremely cold weather.
A deep freeze: A period of very cold weather; also, a large freezer for food.
To put a freeze on something: To halt or stop an activity, spending, or development.
Vocabulary-Based Stories from SEA
Source Information
Definition of freeze from The Academic Glossary at Self Exploration Academy, a Urikville Press Publication. © All rights reserved.
