froze

Verb

freeze (third-person singular simple present freezes, present participle freezing, simple past froze or (archaic) frore, past participle frozen or (now colloquial) froze or (archaic) frore)

1. (copulative, intransitive) Especially of a liquid, to become solid due to low temperature.
   • The lake froze solid.

   Synonyms:

   solidify

   Antonyms:

   defrost, liquify, unfreeze

2. (transitive) To lower something's temperature to the point that it freezes or becomes hard.
   • Don't freeze meat twice.
3. (intransitive) To drop to a temperature below zero degrees celsius, where water turns to ice.
   • It didn't freeze this winter, but last winter was very harsh.
4. (informal, intransitive) To be affected by extreme cold.
   • It's freezing in here!
5. (idiomatic, intransitive) Of a machine or system, to come to a sudden halt, to stop working (functioning).
   • Since the last update, the program freezes after a few minutes of use.

   Synonyms:

   freeze up, grind to a halt, hang, lock up, seize, seize up

6. (idiomatic, intransitive) Of a person or other animal, to stop (become motionless) or be stopped due to attentiveness, fear, surprise, etc.
   • Despite all of the rehearsals, I froze as soon as I got on stage.

   Synonyms:

   freeze up

See all 19 meanings of freeze