Green’s Dictionary of Slang

don’t move! stay where you are!

1936		N. Page ‘Secret Guns’ in Thrilling Western May 🌐 ‘Freeze!’ Crittenden barked.
1944		C.S. Montanye ‘Shoulder Straps’ in Thrilling Detective Feb. 🌐 ‘Freeze, copper!’ Bristol ordered.
a.1953		‘Death Row’ in D. Wepman et al. Life (1976) 118: Freeze, motherfucker, and just give me that bread.
1963		M. Braly Shake Him Till He Rattles (1964) 19: ‘Freeze!’ Carver’s amplified voice blurred in its own echoes.
1974		V.E. Smith Jones Men 33: Freeze! [...] Don’t nobody move!
1985		J. Wambaugh Secrets of Harry Bright (1986) 238: ‘Police! Hey, wait a minute!’ ‘Freeze, or you’re going to sleep for a while.’.
1994		N. McCall Makes Me Wanna Holler (1995) 138: I pointed the .32 pistol at him and said ‘Freeze!’.
2000		M. Collins Keepers of Truth 69: Everybody freeze, Goddamn it!
2012		T. Piccirilli Last Kind Words 20: Her parents [...] shoved up against the wall, frisked, billy-clubbed in the kidneys, cuffed, Freeze, dirtbag.