a state or period of halted or suspended activity or progress.
High interest rates created a deep freeze in housing construction.
suspended animation.
to quick-freeze (food).
to store in a frozen state.
An Americanism dating back to 1940–45
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"Relations remain in deep freeze," former Pakistani diplomat, Husain Haqqani, now a senior fellow at Anwar Gargash Diplomatic Academy and Hudson Institute, told the BBC.
From BBC • May 7, 2026
Weather that swings from deep freeze to frying pan.
From Barron's • Apr. 14, 2026
Car sales got a boost after deep freeze across much of the country ended and customers were able to get to showrooms.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 9, 2026
But as the digital-asset realm evolves, the real deep freeze would be if there were an extended drop in the value of stablecoins in circulation.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 13, 2026
Mrs. Zuckerman wanted to see a deep freeze.
From "Charlotte's Web" by E.B. White
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
