freeze
/friːz/
verb
- To become solid because of cold temperatures; to turn into ice.
- The lake freezes every winter, and people go ice skating on it.
- Don't leave the milk out too long, or it might freeze.
- Water will freeze if the temperature drops below 32°F.
- To cause something to become solid by cooling it.
- I need to freeze the leftover stew for next week.
- You can freeze berries to use in smoothies later.
- The company freezes its products to keep them fresh during shipping.
- To stop moving suddenly, especially because of fear or surprise.
- She froze in the middle of her speech when she forgot her lines.
- The deer froze when it saw the headlights.
- He told me to freeze and put my hands up.
- To fix or lock something at a particular level or state, preventing change.
- The government decided to freeze prices on essential goods.
- We need to freeze the account to prevent any more transactions.
- The company will freeze hiring until the economy improves.
- To stop a process or activity temporarily.
- The computer screen froze, and I had to restart it.
- The game was frozen due to a technical issue.
- Let's freeze the discussion and come back to it tomorrow.
noun
- A period of very cold weather when temperatures are below freezing.
- The freeze damaged many of the crops in the valley.
- The forecast warns of a freeze this weekend.
- We had a hard freeze last night, and the pipes burst.
- A temporary halt or stoppage of something, such as hiring, spending, or prices.
- The government imposed a price freeze on fuel.
- There is a freeze on all new projects until the budget is approved.
- The company announced a hiring freeze until next year.