congèle

Congèle is a French verb form derived from congeler, meaning to freeze. It is most commonly encountered as the third-person singular present indicative: il congèle, elle congèle, meaning “he freezes” or “she freezes.” It is also the informal singular imperative used to tell someone to freeze something: congèle. The present tense of congeler is conjugated as: je congèle, tu congèles, il congèle, nous congelons, vous congelez, ils congèlent. The past participle is congelé, used to form compound tenses such as j’ai congelé.

In usage, congeler and its form congèle refer to lowering a substance’s temperature until it becomes solid, typically to preserve food or to halt biological processes. The noun related to the process is congélation, and devices used to freeze are called congélateurs (freezers). Frozen foods are often described as surgelés, while standard frozen storage is managed in household or commercial freezers.

The term appears in culinary, household, and scientific contexts. In cooking, instructions may say to congeler des aliments for preservation or to extend shelf life. In meteorology or daily language, congélation can describe freezing conditions, such as temperatures near or below 0 °C that cause water to become ice. Etymologically, congeler derives from Latin congelare, through Old French and evolving spellings to the modern form congeler.