Meaning & use
thaw
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Meanings
verbintransitive
To become soft or liquid again after being frozen, because the temperature has risen.
Grammar: No object; the thing that was frozen is the subject: The ice thawed.
Patterns
- something thaws
- thaw out
Leave the chicken on the counter until it thaws completely.
The lake thawed in early April after a long winter.
My fingers began to thaw as soon as I went inside.
verbtransitive
To make something frozen become soft or liquid by warming it.
Grammar: Takes an object: thaw the meat. Often used with 'out': thaw out the pipes.
Patterns
- thaw something
- thaw something out
Thaw the berries in the refrigerator overnight.
We used a hair dryer to thaw the frozen lock.
You can thaw the soup quickly in the microwave.
verbintransitivefigurative
If a relationship or an unfriendly situation thaws, it becomes warmer and less tense.
Grammar: No object; used figuratively about feelings, relations, or atmospheres.
Patterns
- relations thaw
- something thaws between people
Relations between the two countries began to thaw after the summit.
The atmosphere in the room thawed once everyone started laughing.
His attitude toward me has slowly thawed over the years.
nouncountable
A period of warmer weather when snow and ice melt.
Grammar: Usually singular with 'the'; can be used with 'a' when describing one such period.
Patterns
- the thaw
- a spring thaw
The thaw turned the roads into rivers of mud.
We're expecting a thaw by the weekend.
The early thaw surprised the farmers.
Word forms
| third person singular | thaws |
|---|---|
| past tense | thawed |
| past participle | thawed |
| -ing form | thawing |
Common combinations
- thaw out
- We sat by the fire to thaw out after the walk.
- the spring thaw
- The spring thaw flooded the lower fields.
- thaw relations
- The visit helped thaw relations between the neighbors.
- thaw frozen food
- Never thaw frozen food at room temperature for hours.
- a thaw in relations
- There has been a thaw in relations since the new leader took office.
Synonyms and how they differ
- melt
- Often used for solids turning to liquid by heat; thaw is used especially for things frozen by cold.
- defrost
- Usually transitive and technical, as in defrost the freezer; thaw is more general.
- soften
- Can mean becoming less hard or less strict; thaw is specifically about ice or cold.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: thaw or melt? thaw or defrost?
thaw vs melt
Melt is broader and often implies heat; thaw specifically suggests coming out of a frozen state.
thaw vs defrost
Defrost is more technical and usually transitive, as in defrost the chicken; thaw works both ways.
Practice
The frozen pipes finally ______ after we turned up the heat.
Choose one answer.
The sentence needs a past-tense verb, so 'thawed' is correct. 'Thawing' would need a helping verb like 'were'. 'Thaw' and 'thaws' are present tense and do not fit the past-time context.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “thaw”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.