FREEZE • DICTIONARY ONE.COM • Definition of Freeze

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/friz/ Listen

verb

Freeze v. t. (past froze; past part. frozen; pres. part. freezing)

1.

To congeal; to harden into ice; to convert from a fluid to a solid form by cold, or abstraction of heat.

2.

To cause loss of animation or life in, from lack of heat; to give the sensation of cold to; to chill. "A faint, cold fear runs through my veins, That almost freezes up the heat of life."

To freeze out, to drive out or exclude by cold or by cold treatment; to force to withdraw; as, to be frozen out of one's room in winter; to freeze out a competitor. (Colloq.) "A railroad which had a London connection must not be allowed to freeze out one that had no such connection." "It is sometimes a long time before a player who is frozen out can get into a game again."

Freeze v. i. (past froze; past part. frozen; pres. part. freezing)

1.

To become congealed by cold; to be changed from a liquid to a solid state by the abstraction of heat; to be hardened into ice or a like solid body. Note: Water freezes at 32° above zero by Fahrenheit's thermometer; mercury freezes at 40° below zero.

2.

To become chilled with cold, or as with cold; to suffer loss of animation or life by lack of heat; as, the blood freezes in the veins.

To freeze up (Fig.), to become formal and cold in demeanor. (Colloq.)

noun

Freeze n. (Arch.) A frieze. (Obs.)

Freeze n. The act of congealing, or the state of being congealed. (Colloq.)

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Etymology of 'Freeze'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Freeze" Quotes from Famous Books

... coated with sauce to be fried, I omitted to give the caution that, in the case of meats, care must be taken not to leave them long enough to freeze ...

— Choice Cookery • Catherine Owen

... wonderful to make up for the rest of these people, especially the kindergarten teacher. Miss Snaith and I clashed early on the subject of fresh air; but I intend to get rid of this dreadful institution smell, if I freeze every child into a ...

— Dear Enemy • Jean Webster

... invested in trust funds to help cushion the transition and provide for Nauru's economic future. The government has been borrowing heavily from the trusts to finance fiscal deficits. To cut costs the government has called for a freeze on wages, a reduction of over-staffed public service departments, privatization of numerous government agencies, and closure of some overseas consulates. In recent years Nauru has encouraged the registration of offshore banks and corporations. ...

— The 2003 CIA World Factbook • United States. Central Intelligence Agency

... those mathematical notions so current in mechanical philosophy, has at least this practical superiority over them, that it guarantees an ideal order that shall be permanently preserved. A world with a God in it to say the last word, may indeed burn up or freeze, but we then think of him as still mindful of the old ideals and sure to bring them elsewhere to fruition; so that, where he is, tragedy is only provisional and partial, and shipwreck and dissolution not the absolutely ...

— Pragmatism - A New Name for Some Old Ways of Thinking • William James

... by infantry, in small detachments. Its strength may be increased by covering it with boards, or straw, so as to distribute the weight over a greater surface. By sprinkling water over the straw, and allowing it to freeze, the mass may be made still more compact. But large bodies of cavalry, and heavy artillery, cannot venture on the ice unless it be of great thickness and strength. An army can never trust, for any length of time, to either fords or ice; if it did a freshet or ...

— Elements of Military Art and Science • Henry Wager Halleck

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