Word
freeze
US/ˈfɹiz/
UK/fɹˈiːz/
Irregular verb
Forms
Infinitive
freeze
Past
froze
Past participle
frozen
In Japanese
to freeze; to become frozen; to freeze over
水は摂氏０度で凍る。
Water freezes at 0 degrees Centigrade. Tatoeba
to harden; to solidify
to freeze (of one's body); to be frozen; to become numb (with cold)
Japanese from JMdict (EDRDG), CC BY-SA 4.0. Example sentences from Tatoeba, CC BY 2.0 FR. All sources.
Definitions
01to turn into ice
A2 · Elementary Science
v. to become solid because of very cold temperatures.
v. to undergo a phase change from liquid to solid due to the reduction of temperature below a freezing point.
“The lake will freeze over if the temperature stays below zero all week.”
“Water pipes in older buildings are prone to bursting when the water inside begins to freeze and expand during a cold snap.”
02to stop moving
B1 · Intermediate
v. to suddenly stop moving because you are scared or surprised.
v. to become suddenly motionless, typically as a physiological response to fear, shock, or a need for concealment.
“The deer heard a loud noise and froze in the middle of the road.”
“When the witness saw the intruder, she froze in terror, unable to reach for the phone or call for help.”
Synonyms
Antonyms
03computer/system
B1 · Intermediate Computing Informal
v. to stop working or stop responding to your mouse and keyboard.
v. of a computer program or hardware system, to cease responding to user input or to stop processing instructions.
“My laptop always seems to freeze when I try to open too many tabs.”
“The application would frequently freeze during the rendering process, forcing the designers to restart the entire workstation.”
04to fix prices or assets
B2 · Upper Intermediate Finance Formal
v. to officially stop something from changing, like prices or access to money.
v. to fix prices, wages, or credits at a specific level; or to legally prevent the movement or withdrawal of financial assets.
“The government decided to freeze electricity prices for the rest of the year.”
“The court ordered the bank to freeze the suspect's accounts while the fraud investigation was ongoing.”
Antonyms
05cold weather
B1 · Intermediate Countable noun
n. a period of time when the weather is extremely cold.
n. a period of weather with temperatures below the freezing point of water.
“The sudden freeze in April killed many of the young plants in the garden.”
“Meteorologists warned that the overnight freeze would create hazardous driving conditions on untreated rural roads.”
Antonyms
06a stop on hiring or pay
B2 · Upper Intermediate Countable noun Business Academic
n. an official rule that stops a company from hiring new people or raising pay.
n. an administrative policy that prohibits increases in wages or the recruitment of new staff for a specific period.
“The company announced a hiring freeze because they needed to save money.”
“Despite the budget surplus, the university maintained a strict recruitment freeze across all administrative departments.”
Synonyms
Collocations
Common phrases and expressions where native English speakers use the word “freeze” in context.
Verb
01. freeze assets
“The government decided to freeze assets belonging to the suspects.”
verb + noun
02. freeze in fear
“She froze in fear when she heard the floorboards creak upstairs.”
verb + prep + noun
03. freeze over
“In very cold winters, the entire river can freeze over.”
verb + prep
04. freeze prices
“The supermarket promised to freeze prices on all essential goods.”
verb + noun
05. freeze recruitment
“The company had to freeze recruitment due to the budget deficit.”
verb + noun
06. freeze solid
“The ground had frozen solid, making it impossible to dig.”
verb + adj
Adjective
07. instantly freeze
“The liquid will instantly freeze when it touches the cold surface.”
adv + verb
Noun
08. freeze on spending
“The council has imposed a temporary freeze on spending.”
noun + prep + noun
09. freeze on wages
“Workers are protesting against the new freeze on wages.”
noun + prep + noun
10. freeze in one's tracks
“The sight of the bear made him freeze in his tracks.”
11. freeze someone out
“They tried to freeze him out of the conversation.”
12. freeze to the marrow
“The icy wind seemed to freeze him to the marrow.”
Etymology
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”).
See the above verb.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Word family
VERB
NOUN
ADJECTIVE
PHRASAL VERB
Related words
Idioms
Domains
- Exam level
- CambridgeCambridgeCambridge English QualificationsThe exam suite from Cambridge University Press & Assessment, from A1 Movers up to C2 Proficiency. The benchmark names double as CEFR labels.B1 PreliminaryIELTSIELTSInternational English Language Testing SystemThe 0–9 band test co-owned by the British Council, IDP, and Cambridge. Used for university entry, work, and migration.4.0–5.0TOEFL iBTTOEFL iBTTest of English as a Foreign Language, Internet-Based TestETS's academic English test, the standard route for US university admissions. Scored 0–120, with a 1–6 scale since 2026.1–6 scale: 3.0–3.544–71TOEICTOEICTest of English for International CommunicationETS's workplace English test, big in Japan and Korea. Listening & Reading scores 10–990 and tops out at C1.550–784EikenEikenTest in Practical English ProficiencyThe English proficiency test from the Eiken Foundation of Japan, widely taken by Japanese students. Grades run from 5 to 1, with Pre-1 and Pre-2 between them.Grade 2
- Frequency
- Common
- Level
- B1 · IntermediateOxford
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englishreference.com/q/freeze
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「日本語」 data: JMdict (EDRDG), CC BY-SA 4.0