Frozen Freeze Froze Cold Friːz Stop Water Weather

• water freezes at 0°c.
• it's so cold that even the river has frozen.
• the cold weather had frozen the ground.
• the clothes froze solid on the washing line.

freeze

1. to become hard, and often turn to ice, as a result of extreme cold; to make something do this
• opposite thaw
  https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/thaw_1
• Water freezes at 0°C.
• It's so cold that even the river has frozen.
• The cold weather had frozen the ground.
• The clothes froze solid on the washing line.
2. if a pipe, lock or machine freezes, or something freezes it, it becomes blocked with frozen liquid and therefore cannot be used
• The pipes have frozen, so we've got no water.
• Ten degrees of frost had frozen the lock on the car.
3. when it freezes, the weather is at or below 0° Celsius
• It may freeze tonight, so bring those plants inside.
4. to be very cold; to be so cold that you die
• Every time she opens the window we all freeze.
• Two men froze to death on the mountain.
• Two men were frozen to death on the mountain.
5. to keep food at a very low temperature in order to preserve it
• Can you freeze this cake?
• These meals are ideal for home freezing.
6. to be able to be kept at a very low temperature
• Some fruits freeze better than others.
7. to stop moving suddenly because of fear, etc.
• I froze with terror as the door slowly opened.
• The smile froze on her lips.
• The police officer shouted ‘Freeze!’ and the man dropped the gun.
8. when a computer screen freezes, you cannot move any of the images, etc. on it, because there is a problem with the system
• See related entries: Computer problems
  https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/topic/computer_problems/freeze_1
9. to stop a film/movie or video in order to look at a particular picture
• see also freeze-frame
  https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/freeze-frame
• Freeze the action there!
10. to hold wages, prices, etc. at a fixed level for a period of time
• synonym peg
  https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/peg_2
• Salaries have been frozen for the current year.
11. to prevent money, a bank account, etc. from being used by getting a court order which bans it
• See related entries: Banking
  https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/topic/banking/freeze_5
• The company's assets have been frozen.
12. to make you extremely frightened or shocked
• See related entries: Fear
  https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/topic/fear/freeze_4
13. to suddenly make somebody stop by frightening or surprising them; to suddenly stop because something has frightened or surprised you
• See related entries: Surprise
  https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/topic/surprise/freeze_3
• The question stopped Alice in her tracks.

Extra Examples

• He was so surprised he froze to the spot.
• His smile froze for a moment.
• Hundreds of homeless people could freeze to death this winter.
• Maggie’s face had frozen into a cold mask.
• Many vegetables freeze very well.
• Prices have been frozen at this level for over a year now.
• Salaries were effectively frozen for six months.
• She froze with horror when she saw the body.
• Suddenly, Ronny seemed to freeze.
• The lake has frozen over.
• The pipes have frozen up.
• The pond had frozen solid.
• Turn up the heat—I’m freezing to death!
• like water freezing into ice

Verb Forms

• present simple I / you / we / they freeze
• he / she / it freezes
• past simple froze
• past participle frozen
• -ing form freezing

Word Origin

• Old English frēosan (in the phrase hit frēoseth ‘it is freezing’), of Germanic origin; related to Dutch vriezen and German frieren, from an Indo-European root shared by Latin pruina ‘hoar frost’ and frost.