1
: very cold
"Put on your jacket. It's freezing outside!"
Addy rushed home through the darkening streets as if she were pushed along by the wind. She was freezing!—
Connie Porter
Connie Porter2
: being at or below the temperature at which water freezes
a forecast for freezing temperatures overnight
freezing
adverb
The weather was freezing cold. [=very cold]
freezingly
adverb
freezingly cold temperatures
Mrs. Reed's hands still lay on her work inactive: her eye of ice continued to dwell freezingly on mine.
—Charlotte Brontë
Charlotte Brontë
: the temperature at which water freezes
temperatures dipping below freezing
Examples of freezing in a Sentence
Adjective
why aren't you wearing a coat, as it's freezing outside?
Recent Examples on the Web
Hollie Silverman, MSNBC Newsweek, 12 July 2025
The young girl then managed to find her way out of the woods and locate help without the aid of any of her devices, all in freezing temperatures.
—Chris Spargo, People.com, 8 July 2025
Dalia Faheid, CNN Money, 13 July 2025
The sanctions that hurt Russia the most—an oil-export ban, the freezing of two-thirds of its foreign reserves, and its exclusion from the SWIFT bank-to-bank payment network—all came from the EU.
—Andrew Ryvkin, The Atlantic, 16 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for freezing
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Adjective
The region where Wilga went missing is known for freezing nighttime temperatures, mixed difficult terrain, and total isolation.
—Hollie Silverman, MSNBC Newsweek, 12 July 2025
The young girl then managed to find her way out of the woods and locate help without the aid of any of her devices, all in freezing temperatures.
—Chris Spargo, People.com, 8 July 2025
Noun
Once safe, the Chatterbox children – soaked and freezing – cuddled on the hill.
—Dalia Faheid, CNN Money, 13 July 2025
The sanctions that hurt Russia the most—an oil-export ban, the freezing of two-thirds of its foreign reserves, and its exclusion from the SWIFT bank-to-bank payment network—all came from the EU.
—Andrew Ryvkin, The Atlantic, 16 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for freezing
Cite this Entry
“Freezing.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/freezing. Accessed 25 Jul. 2025.
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