freeze out

verb

froze out; frozen out; freezing out; freezes out
Synonyms of freeze outnext
freeze-out noun

Examples of freeze out in a Sentence

a housing market that effectively freezes out people of moderate means
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
That’s been a point of friction between federal authorities and state investigators, who complain that they have been frozen out of those cases so far with no access to evidence. Steve Karnowski, Fortune, 11 Feb. 2026 That is not the case under a strong-mayor system, where councilmembers are frozen out of operational decisions and responsibility. Steven Falk, Mercury News, 6 Feb. 2026 And businesses from Australian wine makers to Norwegian salmon farmers have been frozen out of the massive China market in recent years when their governments fell foul of Beijing. Simone McCarthy, CNN Money, 5 Feb. 2026 Outcast Axel Disasi, who was frozen out like Sterling, at least gets a chance to play senior football again on loan at West Ham United, also until the summer. James McNicholas, New York Times, 4 Feb. 2026 See All Example Sentences for freeze out

Word History

First Known Use

1861, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of freeze out was in 1861

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Freeze out.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/freeze%20out. Accessed 14 Feb. 2026.

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
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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