v. & n.
v. (past froze; past part. frozen) 1 tr. & intr. a turn or be turned into ice or another solid by cold. b (often foll. by over, up) make or become rigid or solid as a result of the cold. 2 intr. be or feel very cold. 3 tr. & intr. cover or become covered with ice. 4 intr. (foll. by to, together) adhere or be fastened by frost (the curtains froze to the window). 5 tr. preserve (food) by refrigeration below freezing-point. 6 tr. & intr. a make or become motionless or powerless through fear, surprise, etc. b react or cause to react with sudden aloofness or detachment. 7 tr. stiffen or harden, injure or kill, by chilling (frozen to death). 8 tr. make (credits, assets, etc.) temporarily or permanently unrealizable. 9 tr. fix or stabilize (prices, wages, etc.) at a certain level. 10 tr. arrest (an action) at a certain stage of development. 11 tr. arrest (a movement in a film) by repeating a frame or stopping the film at a frame.
n. 1 a state of frost; a period or the coming of frost or very cold weather. 2 the fixing or stabilization of prices, wages, etc. 3 a film-shot in which movement is arrested by the repetition of a frame. freeze-dry (-dries, -dried) freeze and dry by the sublimation of ice in a high vacuum. freeze-frame = sense 3 of n. freeze on to colloq. take or keep tight hold of. freeze out US colloq. exclude from business, society, etc. by competition or boycott etc. freeze up obstruct or be obstructed by the formation of ice. freeze-up n. a period or conditions of extreme cold. freezing-mixture salt and snow or some other mixture used to freeze liquids. freezing-point the temperature at which a liquid, esp. water, freezes. freezing works Austral. & NZ a place where animals are slaughtered and carcasses frozen for export. frozen mitt colloq. a cool reception. freezable adj. frozenly adv.
[ OE freosan f. Gmc ]