ENGLISH
REFERENCE

freeze

v. · n.
US //ˈfɹiz// UK //fɹˈiːz// freeze
Irregular verb past froze past participle frozen
  1. 1 to turn into ice (v.)
    A2 Elementary Science

    to become solid because of very cold temperatures.

    to undergo a phase change from liquid to solid due to the reduction of temperature below a freezing point.

    Example

    The lake will freeze over if the temperature stays below zero all week.

    Example

    Water pipes in older buildings are prone to bursting when the water inside begins to freeze and expand during a cold snap.
  2. 2 to stop moving (v.)
    B1 Intermediate

    to suddenly stop moving because you are scared or surprised.

    to become suddenly motionless, typically as a physiological response to fear, shock, or a need for concealment.

    Example

    The deer heard a loud noise and froze in the middle of the road.

    Example

    When the witness saw the intruder, she froze in terror, unable to reach for the phone or call for help.
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  1. 3 computer/system (v.)
    B1 Intermediate Informal Computing

    to stop working or stop responding to your mouse and keyboard.

    of a computer program or hardware system, to cease responding to user input or to stop processing instructions.

    Example

    My laptop always seems to freeze when I try to open too many tabs.

    Example

    The application would frequently freeze during the rendering process, forcing the designers to restart the entire workstation.
  2. 4 to fix prices or assets (v.)
    B2 Upper Intermediate Formal Finance

    to officially stop something from changing, like prices or access to money.

    to fix prices, wages, or credits at a specific level; or to legally prevent the movement or withdrawal of financial assets.

    Example

    The government decided to freeze electricity prices for the rest of the year.

    Example

    The court ordered the bank to freeze the suspect's accounts while the fraud investigation was ongoing.
  3. 5 cold weather (n.)
    B1 Intermediate

    a period of time when the weather is extremely cold.

    a period of weather with temperatures below the freezing point of water.

    Example

    The sudden freeze in April killed many of the young plants in the garden.

    Example

    Meteorologists warned that the overnight freeze would create hazardous driving conditions on untreated rural roads.
    • heatwave
  4. 6 a stop on hiring or pay (n.)
    B2 Upper Intermediate Academic Business

    an official rule that stops a company from hiring new people or raising pay.

    an administrative policy that prohibits increases in wages or the recruitment of new staff for a specific period.

    Example

    The company announced a hiring freeze because they needed to save money.

    Example

    Despite the budget surplus, the university maintained a strict recruitment freeze across all administrative departments.
Etymology 1

From Middle English fresen, from Old English frēosan (“to freeze”), from Proto-West Germanic freusan, from Proto-Germanic freusaną (“to freeze”), from Proto-Indo-European *prews- (“to freeze; frost”). Cognates Cognate with North Frisian friis, friise, früüs (“to freeze”), Saterland Frisian fjoose, frjoze (“to freeze”), West Frisian frieze (“to freeze”), Central Franconian freese (“to freeze”), Cimbrian briizan, vriizan (“to be cold”), Dutch vriezen (“to freeze”), Low German freren, fresen (“to freeze”), Luxembourgish fréieren (“to freeze”), German frieren (“to freeze”), Yiddish פֿרירן (frirn, “freeze”), Danish and Norwegian Bokmål fryse (“to freeze”), Icelandic frjósa (“to freeze”), Norwegian Nynorsk frysa, fryse (“to freeze”), Swedish frysa (“to freeze”); also Cornish rew (“frost, ice”), Irish reo (“frost”), reoigh (“to freeze”), Manx rio (“frost, ice”), Scottish Gaelic reòdh, reòth (“freeze”), Welsh rhew (“frost, ice”), Latin pruīna (“hoarfrost, rime”), Albanian prush (“embers”), Lithuanian prausti (“to give showers of rain”), Czech prskat (“to splutter, sputter”), Macedonian прска (prska, “to spray, sprinkle”), Polish pryskać, prysnąć (“to spray, sprinkle”), Russian пры́скать (prýskatʹ), пры́снуть (prýsnutʹ, “to spray, sprinkle”), Serbo-Croatian прскати, prskati (“to spray, sprinkle”), Sanskrit प्रुष्णोति (pruṣṇoti, “to moisten, shower, sprinkle, wet”), प्रुष्वा (pruṣvā, “hoarfrost, ice, rime”), Saraiki پسݨ (pussaṇ, “to become wet”).

Etymology 2

See the above verb.

Word family
Idioms2 entries

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