n. [ F. brise; akin to It. brezza breeze, Sp. briza, brisa, a breeze from northeast, Pg. briza northeast wind; of uncertain origin; cf. F. bise, Pr. bisa, OHG. bisa, north wind, Arm. biz northeast wind. ] 1. A light, gentle wind; a fresh, soft-blowing wind. [ 1913 Webster ]

Into a gradual calm the breezes sink. Wordsworth. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. An excited or ruffed state of feeling; a flurry of excitement; a disturbance; a quarrel; as, the discovery produced a breeze. [ Colloq. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Land breeze, a wind blowing from the land, generally at night. --
Sea breeze, a breeze or wind blowing, generally in the daytime, from the sea. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ F. braise cinders, live coals. See Brasier. ] 1. Refuse left in the process of making coke or burning charcoal. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Brickmaking) Refuse coal, coal ashes, and cinders, used in the burning of bricks. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. To blow gently. [ R. ] J. Barlow. [ 1913 Webster ]

To breeze up (Naut.), to blow with increasing freshness. [ 1913 Webster ]

/mhw>, n. [ OE. brese, AS. briósa; perh. akin to OHG. brimissa, G. breme, bremse, D. brems, which are akin to G. brummen to growl, buzz, grumble, L. fremere to murmur; cf. G. brausen, Sw. brusa, Dan. bruse, to roar, rush. ] (Zool.) A fly of various species, of the family Tabanidæ, noted for buzzing about animals, and tormenting them by sucking their blood; -- called also horsefly, and gadfly. They are among the largest of two-winged or dipterous insects. The name is also given to different species of botflies. [ Written also breese and brize. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Motionless; destitute of breezes. [ 1913 Webster ]

A stagnant, breezeless air becalms my soul. Shenstone. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. To freeze; to congeal. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Thou hast enfrozened her disdainful breast. Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Arch.) A frieze. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. [ imp. Froze p. p. Frozen p. pr. & vb. n. Freezing. ] [ OE. fresen, freosen, AS. freósan; akin to D. vriezen, OHG. iosan, G. frieren, Icel. frjsa, Sw. frysa, Dan. fryse, Goth. frius cold, frost, and prob. to L. prurire to itch, E. prurient, cf. L. prna a burning coal, pruina hoarfrost, Skr. prushvā ice, prush to spirt. &unr_; 18. Cf. Frost. ] 1. To become congealed by cold; to be changed from a liquid to a solid state by the abstraction of heat; to be hardened into ice or a like solid body. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ Water freezes at 32° above zero by Fahrenheit's thermometer; mercury freezes at 40° below zero. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To become chilled with cold, or as with cold; to suffer loss of animation or life by lack of heat; as, the blood freezes in the veins. [ 1913 Webster ]

To freeze up (Fig.), to become formal and cold in demeanor. [ Colloq. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. 1. To congeal; to harden into ice; to convert from a fluid to a solid form by cold, or abstraction of heat. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To cause loss of animation or life in, from lack of heat; to give the sensation of cold to; to chill. [ 1913 Webster ]

A faint, cold fear runs through my veins,
That almost freezes up the heat of life. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

--
To freeze out, to drive out or exclude by cold or by cold treatment; to force to withdraw; as, to be frozen out of one's room in winter; to freeze out a competitor. [ Colloq. ] A railroad which had a London connection must not be allowed to freeze out one that had no such connection. A. T. Hadley. It is sometimes a long time before a player who is frozen out can get into a game again. R. F. Foster. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

n. The act of congealing, or the state of being congealed. [ Colloq. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

adj. dried by freezing and applying a vacuum; -- used of tissue or blood or serum or other biological substances. This technique is gentler than other drying techniques and caused less damage or deterioration to sensitive substances. It is used primarily as a method to preserve foods or substances, and permit storage without deterioration.
Syn. -- lyophilized, lyophilised. [ WordNet 1.5 +PJC ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Freeze-dried; p. pr. & vb. n. Freeze-drying. ] to remove the moisture from (e.g. food) by first freezing and then subjecting to a high vacuum; -- used as a mild method for drying foods or chemicals while causing little decomposition, in contrast to heat-drying. This is a relatively gently drying process used to preserve food or sensitive biological materials. For biochemical materials, the term lyophilize is often used. [ PJC ]

n. One who, or that which, cools or freezes, as a refrigerator, or the tub and can used in the process of freezing ice cream. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A step. See Gree, a step. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

The top of the ladder, or first greeze, is this. Latimer. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. To freeze rapidly so as to preserve the natural juices and flavors; -- usually used of food or other biologicql matter.
Syn. -- flash-freeze. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

a. Grown rank; rancid; rusty. [ Obs. ] “Reezed bacon.” Marston. [ 1913 Webster ]

(Naut.), a strong breeze. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ 1st pref. un- + freeze. ] To thaw. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]