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
2
: 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
: the temperature at which water freezes
temperatures dipping below freezing
freezing
3 of 3present participle of freeze entry 1
Cite this Entry
“Freezing.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/freezing. Accessed 7 Sep. 2026.
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