freeze out

verb

froze out; frozen out; freezing out; freezes out

transitive verb

: exclude

freeze-out

ˈfrēz-ˌau̇t 

noun

Synonyms of freeze out

• exclude
• ban
• eliminate
• shut out
• bar
• prevent
• rule out

Examples of freeze out in a Sentence

a housing market that effectively freezes out people of moderate means

Recent Examples on the Web

Bass has also accused Raman of freezing out people in her own Hollywood Hills council district who disagree with her. — Los Angeles Times, 1 Nov. 2026

The lawyer said Panahi discovered that court hearings were underway against him after his bank accounts were frozen out of the blue. — Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 27 Oct. 2026

In a report this month that sharply criticized data center giants including Amazon, Google, Meta and Microsoft, several Senate Democrats said companies have used non-disclosure agreements to freeze out the public. — Marc Levy, Chicago Tribune, 22 Oct. 2026

Wayne State University psychology professor Hannah Schacter says changes during adolescence make teenagers unusually sensitive to acceptance and rejection, which is why being frozen out of a group chat can register as a real loss. — Ashley Lynch, Charlotte Observer, 15 Oct. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1861, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for freeze out

• roundabout
• runabout
• sauerkraut
• thereabout
• turnabout
• about
• bailout
• blackout
• blowout
• breakout
• burnout
• buyout

Legal Definition

freezeout

1 of 2 noun

freeze·​out

ˈfrēz-ˌau̇t

: a corporate action (as a merger) taken by those in control of the corporation (as controlling shareholders or the board of directors) for the purpose of causing the minority shareholders to lose their equity in the corporation (as by the sale of their shares) compare squeezeout

freeze out

2 of 2 transitive verb

: to subject to a freezeout