freeze

Meaning

Verb

1. Especially of a liquid, to become solid due to low temperature.
2. To lower something's temperature to the point that it freezes or becomes hard.
3. To drop to a temperature below zero degrees celsius, where water turns to ice.
4. (informal) To be affected by extreme cold.
5. (of machines and software) To come to a sudden halt, stop working (functioning).
6. (of people and other animals) To stop (become motionless) or be stopped due to attentiveness, fear, surprise, etc.
7. To cause someone to become motionless.
8. To lose or cause to lose warmth of feeling; to shut out; to ostracize.
9. To cause loss of animation or life in, from lack of heat; to give the sensation of cold to; to chill.
10. To prevent the movement or liquidation of a person's financial assets
11. Of prices, spending etc., to keep at the same level, without any increase.
12. To prevent from showing any visible change.

Noun

1. A period of intensely cold weather.
2. A halt of a regular operation.
3. The state when either a single computer program, or the whole system ceases to respond to inputs.
4. A precise draw weight shot where a delivered stone comes to a stand-still against a stationary stone, making it nearly impossible to knock out.
5. A block on pay rises or on the hiring of new employees etc.

Noun

Obsolete form of frieze.

Synonyms

congeal

frost

solidify

cold

🥶

refrigerate

freezing

coagulate

frozen

ice

🧊

chill

curdle

stiffen

shiver

become numb

petrify

fix

become solid

halt

be frozen over

clot

be cold

freeze down

freeze out

stop

🛑

ice up

immobilise

immobilize

cool

🆒

thicken

petrified

coldness

ice over

iciness

congealment

congelation

nip

paralyze

peg

quick-freeze

pin

coolness

crash

deep freeze

chilled

fasten

set

shudder

chilliness

stunned

suspend

thick

bitterness

become stiff

be frosty

be frozen

frostiness

block

freeze over

freeze up

gelidity

glaciate

stop dead

glaciation

very cold

be chilled

frigidity

frozeness

hang

harden

bind-seize

attach

be freezing

benumb

burn-in

check

coagulated

coagulation

congealed

coolant

cool down

detain

fortify

freeze to death

freezing cold

frostbitten

frozen stiff

gelation

hardened

hoarfrost

horrify

icy

jell

jellied

layover

pause

quiver

refrigerant

rest

rivet

seize

seizure

stagnate

stand

standstill

stasis

stopover

tie-up

become hard

feel chilly

feel cold

flash-freeze

get cold

get hard

grow numb

turn to stone

become firm

stop still

be stupefied/srunned

cover with ice

be intensely cold

make rigid

cooling agent

congealation

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈfɹiːz/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: fresen

Inherited from Old English: frēosan

Cognate with Scots: frese

Cognate with Saterland Frisian: frjoze

Cognate with Western Frisian: frieze

Cognate with Dutch: vriezen

Cognate with Low German: freren

Cognate with German: frieren

Cognate with Danish: fryse

Cognate with Norwegian: fryse

Cognate with Swedish: frysa

Cognate with Latin: pruīna

Cognate with Welsh: -

Cognate with Sanskrit: प्रुष्व

In summary

From Middle English fresen, from Old English frēosan (“to freeze”), from Proto-West Germanic *freusan, from Proto-Germanic *freusaną (“to frost, freeze”), from Proto-Indo-European *prews- (“to frost, freeze”).
Cognate with Scots frese (“to freeze”), Saterland Frisian frjoze (“to freeze”), West Frisian frieze (“to freeze”), Dutch vriezen (“to freeze”), Low German freren, freern, fresen (“to freeze”), German frieren (“to freeze”), Danish fryse (“to freeze”), Norwegian fryse, Swedish frysa (“to freeze”), Latin pruīna (“hoarfrost”), Welsh (Northern) rhew (“frost, ice”), and Sanskrit प्रुष्व (pruṣvá, “water drop, frost”).