freeze

gelare, congelare

Diventare solido per il freddo, detto di un liquido, oppure raffreddarlo fino a renderlo solido.

In inglese semplice: If a liquid becomes cold enough, it turns solid; you can also make this happen by cooling it.

• Water freezes when it gets cold enough.
• The pond froze overnight.
• Freeze some water to make ice cubes.

Come si usa: freeze into something (The water froze into a solid block.)

Sinonimi: turn to ice, solidify

Contrari: melt, thaw

Espressioni comuni: freeze solid, freeze water, freeze into ice

gelare, congelarsi

Sentire moltissimo freddo.

In inglese semplice: If you do this, you feel extremely cold.

• I'm freezing without my coat.
• We froze while we waited for the bus.
• You'll freeze if you go outside like that.

Sinonimi: feel very cold

Espressioni comuni: freeze outside, freeze to death

gelare

Scendere la temperatura dell’aria sotto zero gradi Celsius.

In inglese semplice: If the weather does this, the temperature falls below zero degrees Celsius.

• It will freeze tonight.
• It froze every night last week.
• Did it freeze while you were away?

Come si usa: it freezes (It often freezes here in January.)

Espressioni comuni: freeze overnight, freeze tonight

paralizzare, immobilizzare

Far smettere improvvisamente qualcuno di muoversi, spesso per paura o per uno shock.

In inglese semplice: To make someone stop moving suddenly, often because they are frightened or shocked.

• Fear froze him.
• The guard's shout froze everyone in place.
• That unexpected sound froze her to the spot.

Come si usa: freeze someone to the spot (The sudden scream froze her to the spot.)

Sinonimi: paralyze, immobilize

Espressioni comuni: freeze someone, freeze someone still

gelata, gelo

Periodo di freddo intenso in cui l’acqua si trasforma in ghiaccio.

In inglese semplice: A period of very cold weather when water turns to ice.

• A hard freeze damaged the plants.
• The freeze lasted for three days.
• Will our pipes survive another freeze?

Sinonimi: cold spell

Espressioni comuni: hard freeze, deep freeze, winter freeze

blocco, sospensione

Ordine o decisione che interrompe temporaneamente un’attività o impedisce cambiamenti.

In inglese semplice: An order or decision that temporarily stops an activity or prevents changes.

• The government announced a spending freeze.
• A freeze on building delayed our new home.
• When will the bank lift the freeze?

Come si usa: a freeze on something (The council announced a freeze on new construction.)

Sinonimi: suspension, halt, moratorium

Espressioni comuni: temporary freeze, spending freeze, freeze on something

blocco degli stipendi, blocco delle assunzioni

Regola temporanea che impedisce aumenti di stipendio o l’assunzione di nuovo personale.

In inglese semplice: A temporary rule preventing pay increases or the employment of new staff.

• The company announced a pay freeze.
• A hiring freeze left several jobs empty.
• Workers opposed the freeze on wages.

Come si usa: a freeze on pay/hiring (The company imposed a freeze on hiring.)

Espressioni comuni: pay freeze, hiring freeze, salary freeze, recruitment freeze

blocco

Situazione in cui un computer o un programma smette di rispondere ai comandi.

In inglese semplice: A state in which a computer or program stops responding to what you do.

• A system freeze stopped my work.
• Restarting the computer fixed the freeze.
• Frequent freezes made the program difficult to use.

Sinonimi: hang, lockup

Espressioni comuni: system freeze, computer freeze, screen freeze