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
Vanessa Yurkevich, CNN Money, 17 Apr. 2026
Along the way, Johnson will be seen sheltering in an under-siege eight-story flat during a missile strike, and will join mobile gun teams and Kyiv’s volunteer air defenders for a freezing night shift protecting the capital from Russian drone attacks.
—Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 13 Apr. 2026
Jessica Farthing, Southern Living, 10 Apr. 2026
Not all three-season sleeping bags will be rated for the lowest spring temperatures, especially in high elevations where nights will still dip below freezing.
—Olivia Young, Travel + Leisure, 9 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for freezing
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Adjective
Just five hours of sub-freezing temperatures is enough to take out crops.
—Vanessa Yurkevich, CNN Money, 17 Apr. 2026
Along the way, Johnson will be seen sheltering in an under-siege eight-story flat during a missile strike, and will join mobile gun teams and Kyiv’s volunteer air defenders for a freezing night shift protecting the capital from Russian drone attacks.
—Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 13 Apr. 2026
Noun
Transfer berries to a storage container or resealable plastic bag for freezing.
—Jessica Farthing, Southern Living, 10 Apr. 2026
Not all three-season sleeping bags will be rated for the lowest spring temperatures, especially in high elevations where nights will still dip below freezing.
—Olivia Young, Travel + Leisure, 9 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for freezing
Cite this Entry
“Freezing.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/freezing. Accessed 22 Apr. 2026.
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