English Explanatory Dictionary

melt

English dictionary entry

Meanings

verb
  1. To change (or to be changed) from a solid state to a liquid state, usually by a gradual heat.
  2. To dissolve, disperse, vanish.
  3. To soften, as by a warming or kindly influence; to relax; to render gentle or susceptible to mild influences; sometimes, in a bad sense, to take away the firmness of; to weaken.
  4. To be discouraged.
  5. To be emotionally softened or touched.
  6. To be very hot and sweat profusely.
noun
  1. Molten material, the product of melting.
  2. The transition of matter from a solid state to a liquid state.
  3. The springtime snow runoff in mountain regions.
  4. A melt sandwich.
  5. Rock showing evidence of having been remelted after it originally solidified.
  6. A wax-based substance for use in an oil burner as an alternative to mixing oils and water.
  7. A soft, soppy, or overly emotional person.
  8. A centre-left or liberal person, when in opposition to a leftist; (especially) a critic of Jeremy Corbyn within the Labour Party.
  9. Variant spelling of milt, the semen of a male fish, used as food.
noun
  1. Acronym of metrics, events, logs, and traces.

Pronunciation

/mɛlt/ en-us-melt.ogg

Word forms

melt melts melting melted molt molten no-table-tags glossary meltest meltedst melteth

Etymology

From Middle English melten, from a merger of Old English meltan (intransitive) and mieltan (transitive), both meaning “to melt, digest,” from Proto-West Germanic *meltan and *maltijan, from Proto-Germanic *meltaną and *maltijaną, both from Proto-Indo-European *(s)meld- (“melt”). Cognate with Icelandic melta (“to digest”).

Synonyms

to found to thaw tart

Related words

smelt

Derived words

brain-melting butter wouldn't melt in someone's mouth chain-melted state face-melting formelt high-melting low-melting meld meltability meltable meltage melt away meltaway melt down melter melting moment melting-pot melting pot melt in the mouth melt into meltoff melt out meltproof melt someone's butter melt up meltwater melty overmelt premelt remelt unmelt zone melting deadmelt hotmelt hot melt adhesive hot melt glue icemelt impact melt melt pond patty melt snowmelt snow melt spring melt summer melt tuna melt undermelt
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