freewheeling
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free·wheel·ing /ˌfriːˈwiːlɪŋ/ adj infml not greatly worrying about rules, formal behaviour, responsibilities, or the results of actions
,free 'will n [U] 1 the ability of someone to decide freely what they will do: She did it of her own free will. (=it was completely her own decision) 2 the belief that human effort can influence events, and they are not fixed in advance by God → compare PREDESTINATION
,free 'world [the] all the non-Communist countries of the world
freeze¹ /friːz/ v froze /frəʊz/, frozen /ˈfrəʊzən/ 1 [i,T (UP)] to (cause to) harden, especially into ice, as a result of extreme cold: Water freezes at the temperature of 0 degrees Celsius. | The pond has frozen up. | The cold was severe enough to freeze the milk. | The cold has frozen the earth solid. | Many roads in northern Scotland are frozen. (=covered with ice or snow) → compare MELT, THAW 2 [i,T(UP)] to (cause to) be unable to move or work properly as a result of ice or very low temperatures: The engine has frozen up. | The cold has frozen the lock on the car door. 3 [i+I] (of weather) to be at or below the temperature at which water becomes ice: Do you think it will freeze tonight? | a freezing cold night 4 [i,T] infml to (cause to) be, feel, or become extremely cold: It's freezing in this room; put the fire on. | The mountain climbers were lost in the snow, and nearly froze to death. (=died of cold) | I'm getting frozen stiff here; please close the window | (fig.) His terrible stories made our blood freeze. (=made us cold with fear) 5 [i,T] a) to preserve (food) by means of very low temperatures: We'll eat some of the beans now, and freeze the rest. | frozen peas b) (of food) to be able to be preserved by freezing: Some sorts of fruit don't freeze well. 6 [i,T] to (cause to) stop suddenly or be unable to move (because of fear etc): The burglar froze (to the spot) when he heard footsteps approaching. | The teacher froze the noisy class with a single look. | 'Freeze!' he said, pointing the gun at me. | A wild animal will sometimes freeze in its tracks when it smells an enemy. 7 [T] to fix (prices or wages) officially at a particular level for a certain length of time 8 [T] to prevent (business shares, bank accounts etc) from being used, especially by government order: frozen assets
freeze sbdy./sthg. ⇔ out phr v [T] infml to prevent from being included: I tried to join in their conversation but they froze me out.
freeze over phr v [i,T (= freeze sthg. ⇔ over)] to (cause to) turn into ice on the surface: The lake has frozen over.
freeze² n [S] 1 a period of extremely cold icy weather: He slipped and broke his leg during the big freeze last winter. 2 a fixing of prices, wages, or the number of jobs at a certain level: a wage freeze | a freeze on jobs (=no new jobs will be made available) 3 a stopping of some activity, often because of the lack of money to continue it: a hiring freeze | He put a freeze on that project till the end of the fiscal year. → see also DEEP FREEZE
,freeze-'dried adj freeze-dried food has been frozen and dried very quickly in order to preserve it
freez·er /ˈfriːzər/ n 1 also deep freeze a large FRIDGE in which supplies of food can be stored at a very low temperature for a long time: a chest freezer in a shop | an upright freezer → compare FRIDGE; see picture at KITCHEN 2 also freezing compartment an enclosed part of a FRIDGE in which there is a specially low temperature for making ice CUBES, storing frozen foods etc
'freezer bag n a transparent plastic bag used to store food in, especially in a freezer
'freezing point n 1 [U] also freezing infml the temperature (0 degrees Celsius) at which water becomes ice: It's very cold today; the temperature has dropped to freezing point. | It must be five degrees below freezing today. 2 [C(of)] the temperature at which any particular liquid freezes: The freezing point of alcohol is much lower than that of water. → compare BOILING POINT
freight¹ /freɪt/ n [U] goods carried by ship, train, plane etc: This aircraft company carries freight only; it has no passenger service. | You can send this trunk by air freight or by sea freight. | What will be the cost of freight? | a freight train
freight² v [T] to send (something) as freight
'freight car n part of a train which carries goods
freight·er /ˈfreɪtər/ n a ship or aircraft for carrying goods
freight·lin·er /ˈfreɪtˌlaɪnər/ also linertrain n especially BrE a train that carries large amounts of goods in special containers
'freight train n a train that carries goods
Fré·mont, John C. /ˈfriːmɒnt‖-maʊnt/ (1813–90) a US soldier, politician, and EXPLORER, who was called 'The Pathfinder' because he travelled across the western part of North America and made maps of this area. He encouraged US citizens to move to these places, which are now the states of Idaho, Nevada, Washington, Oregon, and California.
french /frentʃ/ v [I] AmE infml to kiss with mouths open and tongues touching: I caught them frenching behind the lockers → see also FRENCH KISS
French¹ n 1 [U] the language of France, and some other countries: How do you ask for directions in French? 2 the French [P] the people of France: The French celebrate 14th July. 3 pardon/excuse my French spoken used to say sorry for swearing
French² adj 1 from or connected with France or its people: an excellent French wine 2 relating to the French language: an introduction to French grammar
French, Dawn (1957–) a British COMEDIAN and actress, best known for appearing in the television series French and Saunders in the 1980s and The Vicar of Dibley in the 1990s. Although she is not tall, she is very large, and often makes jokes about her size. → see colour photo on page A46
,French and ,Indian 'War, the the name for several battles that took place in North America between the French and the British in the mid-18th century, before the AMERICAN REVOLUTIONARY WAR
,French 'bean n [C] BrE a bean with a long green case that is picked when it is young and soft
,French 'bread n [U] white bread in the shape of a thick stick
French Ca'nadian a Canadian person who speaks French, especially one whose family originally came from France
—French-Canadian adj
,French 'chalk n [U] CHALK used for drawing lines on cloth when you are making clothes
'French Con,nection, The (1971) a US film about a determined New York City police officer, played by Gene Hackman, who tries to stop drug SMUGGLERS
,French 'cricket n [U] a game for children played with a ball and a BAT, in which one person tries to throw the ball so that it hits the leg of the person with the bat, and the person with the bat tries to win points by hitting the ball
,french 'dip adj, n AmE a SANDWICH served with clear BEEF soup into which the sandwich is dipped
'French ,doors n [P] especially AmE FRENCH WINDOWS
,French 'dressing n [U] 1 a mixture of oil and VINEGAR that is put on salad 2 AmE a creamy mixture of MAYONNAISE and KETCHUP that is put on salad
,French 'fries also fries especially AmE long thin pieces of potato cooked by being fried (FRY) in fat or oil. The usual British word for these is 'chips', but British people know the words 'French fries' and 'fries' because they are often used on MENUS in restaurants such as MACDONALD'S.
French Gui·a·na /ˌfrentʃ ɡiːˈɑːnə‖-ˈænə/ a country in northeast South America which is a DEPARTMENT of France. Population: 186,917 (2003). Capital: Cayenne. The well-known prison, DEVIL'S ISLAND, is off the coast of French Guiana.
,French 'horn n a BRASS musical instrument made of a thin pipe wound into a circle, with a wide bell-like opening which is played by blowing → see picture at BRASS
,French 'kiss n [C] a kiss made with your mouths open and with your tongues touching
,French 'leave n [U] BrE old-fash or humor time that you spend away from work without permission
,French 'letter n [C] infml old-fash a CONDOM
,French 'loaf n BrE a long thin LOAF of white bread with a hard CRUST; a FRENCH STICK
French·man /ˈfrentʃmən/ n pl. Frenchmen /-mən/ [C] a man born in France or one who has French parents