Meaning & use
deep freeze
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountableBritish
A large appliance that keeps food very cold so it can be stored for months.
Grammar: Countable: we bought a deep freeze for the garage.
Patterns
- keep something in the deep freeze
- put something in the deep freeze
We keep the extra bread in the deep freeze in the garage.
The deep freeze broke down and all the meat spoiled.
She filled the deep freeze with soup before the baby arrived.
nounsingularfigurative
A state in which activity, progress or friendly relations are stopped for a period.
Grammar: Usually singular and used with the: the project is in the deep freeze.
Patterns
- in the deep freeze
- put something into the deep freeze
Relations between the two countries are in the deep freeze.
The company put new hiring in the deep freeze.
Talks went into a deep freeze after the argument.
nounsingularAmerican
Extremely cold weather that persists for some time.
Grammar: Used with an or the: a deep freeze settled over the region.
Patterns
- a deep freeze settles over somewhere
A deep freeze gripped the Midwest this week.
Farmers worry that the deep freeze will kill the crop.
The city was in a deep freeze for nearly ten days.
Word forms
| plural | deep freezes |
|---|
Common combinations
- in the deep freeze
- The negotiations are in the deep freeze.
- put in the deep freeze
- He put his plans in the deep freeze.
- a diplomatic deep freeze
- A diplomatic deep freeze followed the expulsion.
- chest deep freeze
- They bought a chest deep freeze for the cellar.
- a deep freeze settles over
- A deep freeze settled over the valley.
Synonyms and how they differ
- freezer
- Freezer is the standard everyday word for the appliance, while deep freeze sounds slightly older and can suggest a larger unit.
- cold snap
- A cold snap is a short period of low temperatures, whereas a deep freeze is longer and harsher.
- standstill
- Standstill describes a complete stop, but it lacks the picture of coldness that deep freeze gives.
- limbo
- Limbo suggests uncertainty about whether anything will happen, whereas deep freeze suggests that it has been deliberately stopped.
Opposites
Word family
- freeze verb
- to become solid from cold
- freezer noun
- an appliance for freezing food
- deep-freeze verb
- to store food by freezing it hard
- frozen adjective
- turned to ice or very cold
Commonly confused: deep freeze or freezing point?
deep freeze vs freezing point
Freezing point is the temperature at which a liquid turns solid. A deep freeze is an appliance or a spell of extreme cold.
Practice
Both sides refused to talk, and the peace plan went into the ___.
Choose one answer.
Into the deep freeze means progress has stopped. The other options are real phrases but do not mean a halt in activity.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “deep freeze”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.