thaw out
1. To warm up enough to gradually become unfrozen. Make sure you let the turkey thaw out completely in the fridge before you cook it.
2. By extension, to become warm after feeling extremely cold. Come thaw out over here by the fire.
3. To unfreeze something by gradually warming it up. In this usage, a noun or pronoun can be used between "thaw" and "out." I was planning on thawing some chicken breasts to make a stir fry for dinner.
4. By extension, to warm someone or something up after being extremely cold. In this usage, a noun or pronoun can be used between "thaw" and "out." I'm going to start the fire in the living room to thaw the kids out when they come in from playing in the snow.
thawed
1. Warmed up, especially after feeling very cold. After for being out in that frigid weather for so long, I'm looking forward to getting thawed by the fire at my grandparents' house. I gave him a large glass of whiskey to help him feel a bit thawed.
2. obsolete slang Drunk. A number of gentlemen in the committee were decidedly thawed after such copious amounts of wine were passed around.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
thaw out
to warm up from being frozen. How long will it take for the chicken to thaw out? I can't wait for the cake to thaw out. I want some now!
thaw someone or something out
to raise the temperature of someone or something above freezing; to warm someone up. We need to get inside so I can thaw my brother out. His toes are almost frozen. Did you thaw out the chicken?
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
thaw out
v.1. To change from a frozen solid to a liquid by gradual warming: The lake won't thaw out until the middle of April.
2. To lose stiffness, numbness, or impermeability by being warmed: The skiers gathered around the fireplace to thaw out.
3. To cause something to lose stiffness, numbness, or impermeability by being warmed: The hot sun thawed out the frozen ground. Get another stick of butter from the freezer, and thaw it out in the microwave.
4. To become less formal, aloof, or reserved: The new babysitter looked stern but quickly thawed out after meeting the children.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs. Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.