A period of intensely cold weather.
"The archaic term freeze was used as an obsolete form of frieze in early architectural texts."
Obsolete form of frieze.
In plain English: A freeze is when something stops moving completely, often because it gets too cold to change shape.
"The sudden freeze caused pipes to burst in our neighborhood last night."
change from a liquid to a solid when cold
"Water freezes at 32 degrees Fahrenheit"
prohibit the conversion or use of (assets)
"Blocked funds"
"Freeze the assets of this hostile government"
anesthetize by cold
"The surgeon used liquid nitrogen to freeze the small tumor before removing it."
Especially of a liquid, to become solid due to low temperature.
"The lake froze overnight as the winter wind dropped the temperature well below zero."
In plain English: To freeze means to stop moving completely, usually because you are scared or very cold.
"The cold wind made my fingers freeze instantly."
Usage: Use freeze as an intransitive verb when describing how water or other liquids turn into ice without needing a direct object. You can also use it transitively with "up" (e.g., "freeze up") to mean becoming paralyzed by fear, though this is distinct from the physical change of state.
A surname.
"The Freeze family has lived in the valley for three generations."
The word "freeze" comes from the Old English verb frēosan, which originally meant "to freeze." This term traces its roots back to the Proto-Indo-European root *prews-, also meaning "to freeze or frost."