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
Jordi Lippe-McGraw, Condé Nast Traveler, 20 May 2026
Tropical hibiscus should be brought indoors when temperatures drop below about 55 degrees, while cold-hardy types like Rose of Sharon can tolerate freezing temperatures and overwinter outdoors in zones 5 to 9.
—Madeline Buiano, Martha Stewart, 14 May 2026
Olivia McIntosh, Martha Stewart, 14 May 2026
Cooking, boiling, freezing or drying does not make poisonous mushrooms safe to eat.
—Tim Fang, CBS News, 13 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for freezing
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Adjective
Partway up the trail, three penguins waddled past, entirely unbothered by the humans who stepped aside for them, and then belly-slid into the freezing water.
—Jordi Lippe-McGraw, Condé Nast Traveler, 20 May 2026
Tropical hibiscus should be brought indoors when temperatures drop below about 55 degrees, while cold-hardy types like Rose of Sharon can tolerate freezing temperatures and overwinter outdoors in zones 5 to 9.
—Madeline Buiano, Martha Stewart, 14 May 2026
Noun
Before freezing, rinse the stalks under a cool stream of water, and pat them dry.
—Olivia McIntosh, Martha Stewart, 14 May 2026
Cooking, boiling, freezing or drying does not make poisonous mushrooms safe to eat.
—Tim Fang, CBS News, 13 May 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 25 May. 2026.
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