,free-'standing adj. 1 not supported by or attached to anything |§J * £ £ ft ;          34 £ itt : a

free-standing sculpture al fr'J ft M 2 not a part of sth else #. ® (ft ; 34 ±L (ft: a free-standing adult education , service

free style /':friistail/ noun, verb

mnoun [U] 1 a swimming race in which people taking part can use any stroke they want (usually crawl) g &

) : the men’s

400m freestyle H 7 400 A g &   2 (often used as an

adjective A  § ia]) a sports competition in which

people taking part can use any style that they want g &W tfcefif: freestyle skiing g & m verb [V] to rap, play music, dance, etc. by inventing it as you do it, rather than by planning it in advance or following fixed patterns BP A M ug ( ^ # 9k, mm)

FT771 IMPROVISE

free-think-er /,fri:'0ir)k0(r)/ noun a person who forms their own ideas and opinions rather than accepting those of other people, especially in religious teaching n sans#, &Hg *lftA ,free- thinking adj. [only before noun]

,free 'throw noun (in basketball iffjc) an attempt to throw a ball into the basket without any player trying to stop you, that you are allowed after a foul $T]5£ ,free-to-'air [BrE) adj. [usually before noun] (of television programmes @) that you do not have to pay to

watch ifcM'bfcMW: The company provides more than 20 free-to-air channels. H# 20 .free 'trade noun [U] a system of international trade in which there are no restrictions or taxes on imports and exports g&^JI ( rfrM )

.free 'verse noun [u] (technical A in) poetry without a regular rhythm or rhyme ( A 111 /E # (ft ) g&i# — compare blank verse

.free 'vote noun (in Britain) a vote by members of parliament in which they can vote according to their own beliefs rather than following the policy of their political party g&&^ ( *g#g7Aff         )

free-ware /'fri:wea(r); NAmE -wer/ noun [U] (computing if) computer software that is offered free for anyone to use        — compare shareware

free-way /'friiwei/ (also ex-press-way) noun (in the US) a wide road, where traffic can travel fast for long distances. You can only enter and leave freeways at special ramps. ( A Hi ) iU ]§£•]&: a freeway exit iftll £>]&& P 0 an accident on the freeway free-wheel /,fri:'wi:l/ verb [V, usually +adv./prep.] to ride a bicycle without using the pedals ( g ft 7 ) ft ft: I freewheeled down the hill to the village. Ab lL|±

free-wheel-ing /.frii'wiiln}/ adj. [only before noun] [informal) not concerned about rules or the possible results of what you do |Si7*#f$;(ft;     : a free­

wheeling lifestyle

.free 'will noun [U] the power to make your own decisions without being controlled by God or fate g FTflifl of your own free 'will because you want to do sth rather than because sb has told or forced you to do it g gg: She left of her own free will. g 05 TFWo

freeze /friiz/ verb, noun

m verb (froze /frauz; NAmE frouz/, fro-zen /'frauzn; NAmE 'frouzn/)

                 BECOME ICE A A 1 to become hard, and often turn to

ice, as a result of extreme cold; to make sth do this ( (k )  [V] Water freezes atO°C. A7 0 M A

0 It’s so cold that even the river has frozen. A ^ <4 # M #         7 o o [VN] The cold weather had frozen

the ground. M # A H ^ flfe ffi   W 7 0 0 [V-ADJ] The

clothes froze solid on the washing-line. AMfE ± '■fc 7 o H23 thaw

                  OF PIPE/LOCK/MACHINE H7; M2 ~ (sth) (up) if a

pipe, lock or machine freezes, or sth freezes it, it becomes blocked with frozen liquid and therefore cannot be used ( .$> )  : [V] The pipes have

frozen, so we’ve got no water. tKWE&'&T ,

7jc0 0 [VN] Ten degrees of frost had frozen the lock on the

car.

                OF WEATHER A H 3 [V] when it freezes, the weather is

at or below o0 Celsius A ; fr M : It may freeze tonight, so bring those plants inside.          3E

                BE VERY COLD 4 to be very cold; to be so cold that

you die        [V] Every time she opens the

window we all freeze.      ISflt&fHticAo

0 [V, VN] Two men froze to death on the mountain. W7 M77lb A.]7^E7o o Two men were frozen to death on the mountain. MyMB7;l£lili:^?E7o

                FOOD ft VJ] 5 [VN] to keep food at a very low tempera­ture in order to preserve it    QM: Can you

freeze this cake?    0 These

meals are ideal for home freezing.

Mo 6 [V] to be able to be kept at a very low tempera­ture  : Some fruits freeze better than others.

                STOP MOVING ft f]; 7 [V] to stop moving suddenly

because of fear, etc. ( SlF'lt# )   Iff

A: I froze with terror as the door slowly opened. H 'IS tS JFin N‘?lc(rF7:7o 0 [figurative) The smile froze on her lips. MiJ|&±(ftAW'fS/@:7o 0 The police officer shouted ‘Freeze!’ and the man dropped the gun. W^A

*&! ” UP'MIAfcirFTte.

                COMPUTER         8 [V] when a computer screen freezes,

you cannot move any of the images, etc. on it, because there is a problem with the system (

                FILM/MOVIE 9 [VN] to stop a film/movie or video in

order to look at a particular picture (4ae : Freeze the action there!     — see also

freeze-frame

                WAGES/PRICES 1ft:      10 [VN] to hold wages, prices,

etc. at a fixed level for a period of time {4 [§ fit Jf ^fj PS171 peg : Salaries have been frozen for the current year.

                MONEY/BANK ACCOUNT     If E P 11 [VN] to

prevent money, a bank account, etc. from being used by getting a court order which bans it         H

7r       ) : The company’s assets have been frozen. &

imi freeze your blood | make your 'blood freeze

to make you extremely frightened or shocked {4 A&'ffc 7fft\ ^A^;#'!^^ — more at track n. ia:i;w .freeze sb-* out (of sth) [informal) to be deliberately unfriendly to sb, creating difficulties, etc. in order to stop or discourage them from doing sth or taking part in sth ) .freeze 'over to become completely covered by ice A : The lake freezes over in winter.

mnoun

                OF WAGES/PRICES li ft :        fa 1 the act of keeping

wages, prices, etc. at a particular level for a period of time W&-. a wage/price freeze 1ft /

                STOPPING STH # Jk 2 [usually sing.] ~ (on sth) the act of stopping sth fr!h: a freeze on imports jft P

                COLD WEATHER $ $ A H 3 [usually sing.] [BrE) an

unusually cold period of weather during which temperatures stay below 0° Celsius         ; ffllf 1$:

Farmers still talk about the big freeze of ’99.

1999 ^71$ frfrMo 4 (NAmE) a short period of time, especially at night, when the temperature is below 0 ° Celsius H'A: A freeze warning was posted for Thursday night. JgW.MME&lWHftU

'freeze-dry verb [VN] [usually passive] to preserve food or drink by freezing and drying it very quickly #('

freeze-frame noun [u] the act of stopping a moving film at one particular frame (— picture)

freezer /'friiza(r)/ [BrE also .deep 'freeze) [US also Deepfreeze™, .deep 'freezer) noun a large piece of electrical equipment in which you can store food for a long time at a low temperature so that it stays frozen — see also fridge-freezer

freez-ing /'friizir)/ adj. 1 extremely cold     It’s

freezing in here!    ! O I’m freezing!

mmj\ o note at cold 2 [only before noun] having