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
Kat Struhar, Hartford Courant, 18 June 2025
Large hail forms when strong updrafts in thunderstorms lift water droplets high into freezing layers of the atmosphere, allowing ice to accumulate in concentric layers before falling to the ground, according to AccuWeather.
—Anna Skinner, MSNBC Newsweek, 28 May 2025
Charlie Campbell, Time, 16 May 2025
To get rid of the residue, wait until outdoor temperatures rise above freezing, then use a garden hose to wash the plants.
—Maria Sabella, Better Homes & Gardens, 10 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for freezing
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Adjective
Despite the freezing temperatures, Sanchez decided to stick it out in Connecticut for another year after graduating last year, doing freelance theater electrician jobs.
—Kat Struhar, Hartford Courant, 18 June 2025
Large hail forms when strong updrafts in thunderstorms lift water droplets high into freezing layers of the atmosphere, allowing ice to accumulate in concentric layers before falling to the ground, according to AccuWeather.
—Anna Skinner, MSNBC Newsweek, 28 May 2025
Noun
While intimidation is sadly par for the course for local NGOs in the Philippines, the freezing of the bank accounts was devastating.
—Charlie Campbell, Time, 16 May 2025
To get rid of the residue, wait until outdoor temperatures rise above freezing, then use a garden hose to wash the plants.
—Maria Sabella, Better Homes & Gardens, 10 Apr. 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 30 Jun. 2025.
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