freeze

freeze [frēz]

vi.

froze, frozen, freezing [ME fresen < OE freosan, akin to OHG friosan (Ger frieren) < IE base * preus-, to freeze, burn like cold > L pruina, hoarfrost, pruna, glowing coals]

1. to be formed into ice; be hardened or solidified by cold

2. to become covered or clogged with ice

3. to be or become very cold

4. to become attached by freezing [wheels frozen to the ground]

5. to die or be damaged by exposure to cold

☆ 6. to become motionless or fixed

7. to be made momentarily speechless or unable to move or act by a strong, sudden emotion [to freeze with terror]

8. to become formal, haughty, or unfriendly

9. Mech. to stick or become tight as a result of expansion of parts caused by overheating, increased friction due to inadequate lubrication or corrosion, etc.

vt.

1. to cause to form into ice; harden or solidify by cold

2. to cover or clog with ice

3. to make very cold; chill

4. to remove sensation from, as with a local anesthetic

5. to preserve (food) by solidifying it through rapid refrigeration

6. to make fixed or attached by freezing

7. to kill or damage by exposure to cold

8. to make or keep motionless or stiff

☆ 9. to frighten or discourage by cool behavior, unfriendliness, etc.

10. to make formal, haughty, or unfriendly

11.

☆ a) to fix (prices, employment, an employee, etc.) at a given level or place by authoritative regulation

b) to stop consumer production or use of (a critical material), as in wartime

c) to make (funds, assets, etc.) unavailable to the owners

d) to suspend the production of (weapons, esp. nuclear weapons)

n.

1. a freezing or being frozen

2. a period of cold, freezing weather; a frost

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☆ freeze on to or freeze to

Informal to cling to; hold fast to

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freeze out

☆ 1. to die out through freezing, as plants

☆ 2. Informal to keep out or force out by a cold manner, competition, etc.

freezable

adj.