Meaning & use
thaw out
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Meanings
verbtransitive or intransitive
To become warm enough to stop being frozen, or to make something do this.
Grammar: Can take an object: 'thaw out the chicken'. Also used without an object: 'the pipes thawed out'.
Patterns
- thaw out something
- thaw something out
- thaw out
Leave the meat on the counter to thaw out before cooking.
The frozen lake will thaw out in spring.
She thawed out the soup in the microwave.
verbtransitive or intransitiveinformal
To become warm again after being very cold, or to make someone warm.
Grammar: Often used about people: 'come in and thaw out'. Can take an object: 'the fire thawed us out'.
Patterns
- thaw out by the fire
- thaw someone out
We sat by the fire to thaw out after skiing.
A hot bath soon thawed me out.
Word forms
| third person singular | thaws out |
|---|---|
| past tense | thawed out |
| past participle | thawed out |
| -ing form | thawing out |
Common combinations
- thaw out the freezer
- We need to thaw out the freezer this weekend.
- thaw out in the sun
- The ground thawed out in the sun.
- thaw out by the fire
- They thawed out by the fire after the snowball fight.
- let something thaw out
- Let the fish thaw out completely before you cook it.
Synonyms and how they differ
- melt
- Used for solids turning into liquid, especially ice or snow; 'thaw out' is used for frozen things becoming warmer, often food or pipes.
- defrost
- More technical and often used for fridges or car windows; 'thaw out' is more general and informal.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: thaw out or throw out?
thaw out vs throw out
To discard something; it sounds similar to 'thaw out' but has a completely different meaning.
Practice
We need to ________ the chicken before we can cook it.
Choose one answer.
'Thaw out' means to make frozen food warmer so it is no longer frozen. 'Freeze out' means to make something frozen, 'throw out' means to discard, and 'melt down' means to melt completely, which is not the usual phrase for preparing frozen chicken.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “thaw out”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.