thaw

UK: /ˈθɔː/ US: /θɔ/ ,(thô)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026

thaw /θɔ/   v. 

1. to change from a frozen to a liquid state;
   melt: [no object]
   [no object] The meat thawed.
   [~ + object]
   Use the microwave to thaw the meat.
2. to get relief from the cold:
   [no object* (~ + out)] Sit by the fire and thaw out.
3. Meteorology [no object] (of the weather) to become warm enough to melt ice and snow.
4. to (cause to) become less hostile or aloof;
   to (cause to) become more friendly: [no object]
   Relations between the two countries thawed.
   [~ + object]
   The glasses of vodka thawed the hostility between the two sides.

n. [countable]

5. the act or process of thawing.
6. a reduction or easing in tension or hostility.
7. Meteorology (in winter) weather warm enough to melt ice and snow.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

thaw  (thô), v.i. 

1. to pass or change from a frozen to a liquid or semiliquid state;
   melt.
2. to be freed from the physical effect of frost or extreme cold (sometimes fol. by out):
   Sit by the fire and thaw out.
3. Meteorology (of the weather) to become warm enough to melt ice and snow:
   It will probably thaw today.
4. to become less formal, reserved, or aloof:
   He thawed at their kindness.
5. to become less hostile or tense:
   International relations thawed.

v.t. 

6. to cause to change from a frozen to a liquid or semiliquid state;
   melt.
7. to free from the physical effect of frost or extreme cold;
   bring to a more normal temperature, esp. to room temperature:
   I took the steaks out of the freezer and thawed them.
8. to make less cold, formal, or reserved.
9. to make less tense or hostile.

n. 

10. the act or process of thawing.
11. the act or fact of becoming less formal, reserved, or aloof.
12. a reduction or easing in tension or hostility.
13. Meteorology (in winter or in areas where freezing weather is the norm) weather warm enough to melt ice and snow.
14. Meteorology a period of such weather:
    We had a two-week thaw in January.
15. Meteorology the thaw, the first day in the year when ice in harbors, rivers, etc., breaks up or loosens enough to begin flowing to the sea, allowing navigation:
    The Anchorage thaw came on May 18th.

• bef. 1000; (verb, verbal) Middle English thawen, Old English thawian; cognate with Dutch dooien, Old Norse theyja; (noun, nominal) late Middle English, derivative of the verb, verbal

thaw′less, adj. 
Synonyms

• 1. See melt. 
• 2, 8. warm.

Antonyms

• 1. freeze.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

thaw / θɔː/ verb

1. to melt or cause to melt from a solid frozen state: the snow thawed
2. to become or cause to become unfrozen; defrost
3. (intransitive) to be the case that the ice or snow is melting: it's thawing fast
4. (intransitive) to become more sociable, relaxed, or friendly

noun

1. the act or process of thawing
2. a spell of relatively warm weather, causing snow or ice to melt
3. an increase in relaxation or friendliness

Etymology: Old English thawian; related to Old High German douwen to thaw, Old Norse theyja to thaw, Latin tabēre to waste away