/ θɔː; NAmE / verb , noun
■ verb
1.
[ v ] thaw (out) ( of ice and snow ) to turn back into water after being frozen
SYN melt
OPP freeze
2.
[ v ] when it thaws or is thawing , the weather becomes warm enough to melt snow and ice :
It's starting to thaw.
3.
thaw (sth) (out) to become, or to let frozen food become, soft or liquid ready for cooking
—compare defrost , de-ice , unfreeze : [ v ]
Leave the meat to thaw completely before cooking.
[often vn ]
4.
thaw (sth) (out) to become, or make sth become, a normal temperature after being very cold :
[ v ]
I could feel my ears and toes start to thaw out.
[also vn ]
5.
[ v ] thaw (out) to become more friendly and less formal :
Relations between the two countries thawed a little after the talks.
■ noun
1.
[ C , usually sing. ] a period of warmer weather following one of cold weather, causing snow and ice to melt
2.
[ sing. ] thaw (in sth) a situation in which the relations between two enemy countries become more friendly
••
WORD ORIGIN
Old English thawian (verb), of West Germanic origin; related to Dutch dooien . The noun (first recorded in Middle English ) developed its figurative use in the mid 19th cent.