thaw

(thô)

v. thawed, thaw·ing, thaws

v.intr.

1. To change from a frozen solid to a liquid by gradual warming.

2. To lose stiffness, numbness, or impermeability by being warmed: left the frozen turkey out until it thawed; thawed out by sitting next to the stove.

3. To become warm enough for snow and ice to melt.

4. To become less formal, aloof, or reserved.

v.tr.

To cause to thaw.

1. The process of thawing.

2. A period of warm weather during which ice and snow melt.

3. A relaxation of reserve, restraints, or tensions.

[Middle English thawen, from Old English thawian.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

thawing

(ˈθɔːwɪŋ)

the act or state of thawing or melting

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun	1.	thawing - the process whereby heat changes something from a solid to a liquid; "the power failure caused a refrigerator melt that was a disaster"; "the thawing of a frozen turkey takes several hours" melt, melting, thaw heating, warming - the process of becoming warmer; a rising temperature phase change, phase transition, physical change, state change - a change from one state (solid or liquid or gas) to another without a change in chemical composition
	2.	thawing - warm weather following a freeze; snow and ice melt; "they welcomed the spring thaw" thaw, warming atmospheric condition, weather, weather condition, conditions - the atmospheric conditions that comprise the state of the atmosphere in terms of temperature and wind and clouds and precipitation; "they were hoping for good weather"; "every day we have weather conditions and yesterday was no exception"; "the conditions were too rainy for playing in the snow"

Translations

It's thawing out (US)
It's thawing (UK) → تُذُوبُ الثُّلوجُ → Taje → Det er tøvejr → Es taut → Το χιόνι λιώνει → Se está derritiendo → On suojasää → La neige fond → Topi se → Si sta sciogliendo → 雪解けしています → 눈이 녹고 있어요 → Het dooit → Det er mildvær → Są roztopy → Está derretendo → Сегодня все тает → Det töar → Eriyor → Tuyết đang tan → 化雪了

Collins Multilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009

Mentioned in

References in classic literature

Few phenomena gave me more delight than to observe the forms which thawing sand and clay assume in flowing down the sides of a deep cut on the railroad through which I passed on my way to the village, a phenomenon not very common on so large a scale, though the number of freshly exposed banks of the right material must have been greatly multiplied since railroads were invented.

If you look closely you observe that first there pushes forward from the thawing mass a stream of softened sand with a drop-like point, like the ball of the finger, feeling its way slowly and blindly downward, until at last with more heat and moisture, as the sun gets higher, the most fluid portion, in its effort to obey the law to which the most inert also yields, separates from the latter and forms for itself a meandering channel or artery within that, in which is seen a little silvery stream glancing like lightning from one stage of pulpy leaves or branches to another, and ever and anon swallowed up in the sand.

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On the other hand, a carcass washed by a flood into a shallow part of the Arctic Sea, would be preserved for an indefinite period, if it were soon afterwards covered with mud sufficiently thick to prevent the heat of the summer-water penetrating to it; and if, when the sea-bottom was upraised into land, the covering was sufficiently thick to prevent the heat of the summer air and sun thawing and corrupting it.

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Between mouthfuls he talked trail and dogs with the man, who, with head over the stove, was thawing the ice from his mustache.

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They were coated solidly with ice, and the two men kept them on the run around the fire, sweating and thawing, so close that they were singed by the flames.

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"Fundamentally standeth everything still"--: but CONTRARY thereto, preacheth the thawing wind!

The thawing wind, a bullock, which is no ploughing bullock--a furious bullock, a destroyer, which with angry horns breaketh the ice!

The thawing wind bloweth!"--Thus preach, my brethren, through all the streets!

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This report on the global market for Thawing System Market offers in-depth analysis for the period 2017 to 2026, keeping 2016 as the base year.

Thawing System Market Size, Share, Trends and Future Growth Predictions and Forecast 2017 -- 2026

Summary: This report on the global market for Thawing System Market offers in-depth analysis for the period 2017 to 2026, keeping 2016 as the base year.

Thawing System Market Size, Share, Trends and Future Growth Predictions and Forecast 2017 -- 2026

The surface layer of these soils is thawing more and more deeply.

UCLouvain researchers attack Alaska thaw

You might be surprised at this tip, but since bacteria can multiply rapidly at room temperature, thawing or marinating foods on the counter is one of the riskiest things you can do when preparing food for your family.

HOW TO SAFELY THAW FOOD