thaw
v.v. to melt after being frozen. You use this when ice or snow turns back into water, or when you take food out of the freezer to let it get warm.
v. to pass from a frozen to a liquid or soft state as a result of warming. Often describes the melting of ice or the preparation of frozen food for cooking.
The snow begins to thaw as the sun comes out.
You should leave the frozen chicken in the refrigerator overnight to let it thaw safely.
As the spring temperatures rise, the permafrost begins to thaw, potentially releasing ancient gases trapped beneath the surface for millennia.
From Middle English thowen, thawen, from Old English þawian, þāwan (“to thaw”), from Proto-West Germanic þauwjan, from Proto-Germanic þawjaną (“to thaw”), from Proto-Indo-European teh₂- (“to melt”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian daie, dauje (“to thaw”), West Frisian teie (“to thaw”), Dutch dooien (“to thaw”), German Low German deien (“to thaw”), German tauen (“to thaw”), Swedish töa (“to thaw”), Icelandic þeyja (“to thaw”).
Can be used both transitively ('thaw the meat') and intransitively ('the ice thaws').