# freeze

> English word · Verb · IPA /ˈfɹiːz/ · frequency rank #5,965

## Definitions
1. Especially of a liquid, to become solid due to low temperature.
2. To lower something's temperature to the point that it freezes or becomes hard.
3. To drop to a temperature below zero degrees celsius, where water turns to ice.
4. To be affected by extreme cold.
5. Of a machine or system, to come to a sudden halt, to stop working (functioning).
6. Of a person or other animal, to stop (become motionless) or be stopped due to attentiveness, fear, surprise, etc.
7. To cause someone to become motionless.
8. To lose or cause to lose warmth of feeling; to shut out; to ostracize.
9. To cause loss of animation or life in, from lack of heat; to give the sensation of cold to; to chill.
10. To prevent the movement or liquidation of a person's financial assets
11. Of prices, spending etc., to keep at the same level, without any increase.
12. To prevent from showing any visible change.
13. To trap (the puck) so that it cannot be played.

## Etymology
From Middle English fresen, from Old English frēosan (“to freeze”), from Proto-West Germanic *freusan, from Proto-Germanic *freusaną (“to freeze”), from Proto-Indo-European *prews- (“to freeze; frost”).
Cognates
Cognate with North Frisian friis, friise, früüs (“to freeze”), Saterland Frisian fjoose, frjoze (“to freeze”), West Frisian frieze (“to freeze”), Central Franconian freese (“to freeze”), Cimbrian briizan, vriizan (“to be cold”), Dutch vriezen (“to freeze”), Low German freren, fresen (“to freeze”), Luxembourgish fréieren (“to freeze”), German frieren (“to freeze”), Yiddish פֿרירן (frirn, “freeze”), Danish and Norwegian Bokmål fryse (“to freeze”), Icelandic frjósa (“to freeze”), Norwegian Nynorsk frysa, fryse (“to freeze”), Swedish frysa (“to freeze”); also Cornish rew (“frost, ice”), Irish reo (“frost”), reoigh (“to freeze”), Manx rio (“frost, ice”), Scottish Gaelic reòdh, reòth (“freeze”), Welsh rhew (“frost, ice”), Latin pruīna (“hoarfrost, rime”), Albanian prush (“embers”), Lithuanian prausti (“to give showers of rain”), Czech prskat (“to splutter, sputter”), Macedonian прска (prska, “to spray, sprinkle”), Polish pryskać, prysnąć (“to spray, sprinkle”), Russian пры́скать (prýskatʹ), пры́снуть (prýsnutʹ, “to spray, sprinkle”), Serbo-Croatian прскати, prskati (“to spray, sprinkle”), Sanskrit प्रुष्णोति (pruṣṇoti, “to moisten, shower, sprinkle, wet”), प्रुष्वा (pruṣvā, “hoarfrost, ice, rime”), Saraiki پسݨ (pussaṇ, “to become wet”).

## Easily confused with
- **froze** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/freeze-vs-froze)
- **frenzy** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/freeze-vs-frenzy)
- **frieze** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/freeze-vs-frieze)
- **freezer** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/freeze-vs-freezer)
- **freezes** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/freeze-vs-freezes)
- **free** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/free-vs-freeze)
- **freed** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/freed-vs-freeze)
- **frees** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/frees-vs-freeze)
- **freer** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/freer-vs-freeze)
- **freely** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/freely-vs-freeze)
- **fleece** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/fleece-vs-freeze)
- **freebie** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/freebie-vs-freeze)

## Common misspellings (8)
`fereze`, `ffreeze`, `freeez`, `freezze`, `freze`, `frezee`, `frreeze`, `rfeeze`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/freeze