Word.ws English Dictionary

thawing

[ˈθoː.ɹɪŋ(ɡ)]UK/ˈθɔː.ɪŋ/

thawing is the present participle and gerund of thaw.

Meaning of thaw

Verb

thaw (third-person singular simple present thaws, present participle thawing, simple past thawed, past participle thawed or (rare, chiefly poetic or nonstandard) thawn)

  1. (transitive) To gradually cause (something frozen, such as earth, ice, or snow) to melt or soften by raising the temperature.
    • Sette the potte to the fyre to thawe the water: […]1530 July 28 (Gregorian calendar), Iohan Palsgraue [i.e., John Palsgrave], “The Table of Verbes”, in Lesclarcissement de la langue francoyse⸝ […], [London]: […] [Richard Pynson] fynnysshed by Iohan...
  2. (transitive) To gradually cause (someone or something that is very cold) to warm up.
    • [M]y very lippes might freeze to my teeth, my tongue to the roofe of my mouth, my heart in my belly, ere I ſhould come by a fire to thavv me, […]c. 1590–1592 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Taming of the Shrew”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward]...
  3. (figuratively, transitive) To cause (something inactive) to become active; also, to cause (something unfeeling) to have feelings.
    • [N]ovv my loue is thavv'd, / VVhich like a vvaxen Image 'gainſt a fire / Beares no impreſſion of the thing it vvas.c. 1590–1591 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Two Gentlemen of Verona”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and...
  4. (figuratively, transitive) To cause (someone or their feelings that are reserved or unfriendly) to become friendly or gentle.
  5. (archaic, figuratively, rare, transitive) To cause (something rigid) to become limp.
    • "Speak aloud, my lord," said Elizabeth, "and at farther distance, so please you—your breath thaws our ruff. What have you to ask of us?"1821 January 8, [Walter Scott], chapter XV, in Kenilworth; a Romance. […], volume III, Edinburgh: […] Archibald Constable and Co.; and John Ballantyne, […]; London: Hurst, Robinson, and Co., →OCLC...
  6. (intransitive) Of something frozen, such as earth, ice, or snow: to gradually melt or soften as a result of the temperature being raised.
    • the ice thaws
    Synonyms:
    de-ice

See all 18 meanings of thaw

Noun

thawing (plural thawings)

  1. The process by which something thaws.
    • Hence, there is a succession of thawings and freezings. The former expand, and endeavour to restore the surface of the ground to its natural condition, while the latter contract and harden it.1829, James Macauley, The natural, statistical, and civil history of the state of New York

Forms of thawing

pluralthawings

Origin of thawing

From thaw + -ing.

Phrases with thawing

Questions about thawing

What does thawing mean?
Thawing means the process by which something thaws.
What is thawing the present participle and gerund of?
Thawing is the present participle and gerund of thaw.
What part of speech is thawing?
Thawing is a noun.
How do you pronounce thawing?
Thawing is pronounced /ˈθɔː.ɪŋ/ (UK).
What is the plural of thawing?
The plural of thawing is thawings.

Words near thawing in the dictionary

  1. thawedst
  2. thawer
  3. thawers
  4. thawest
  5. thaweth
  6. thawing
  7. thawing out
  8. thawingly
  9. thawings
  10. thawless
  11. thawn

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: thawing (page history and authors); thaw (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this entry: “thawing.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/thawing. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.