malt
Americannoun
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malts
plural
-
germinated grain, usually barley, used in brewing and distilling.
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any alcoholic beverage, as beer, ale, or malt liquor, fermented from malt.
-
whisky, as Scotch, that is distilled entirely from malted barley.
verb (used with object)
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malts,
present (3rd person singular)
-
malted,
past participle, past
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malting
present participle
-
to convert (grain) into malt by soaking it in water and allowing it to germinate.
-
to treat or mix with malt, malt extract, etc.
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to make (liquor) with malt.
verb (used without object)
-
malts,
present (3rd person singular)
-
malted,
past participle, past
-
malting
present participle
-
to become malt.
-
to produce malt from grain.
noun
-
cereal grain, such as barley, that is kiln-dried after it has germinated by soaking in water
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See malt liquor
-
short for malt whisky
verb
-
to make into or become malt
-
to make (something, esp liquor) with malt
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
maltsimple
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maltssimple
-
have maltedperfect
-
has maltedperfect
-
am maltingprogressive
-
are maltingprogressive
-
is maltingprogressive
-
have been maltingperfect progressive
-
has been maltingperfect progressive
Past
-
maltedsimple
-
had maltedperfect
-
was maltingprogressive
-
were maltingprogressive
-
had been maltingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of malt
First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English mealt; cognate with Old Norse malt, German Malz; akin to melt 1
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
For Martin, a key to growing American single malt is convincing drinkers to embrace variety.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 16, 2026
Dessert revives malt bread as French toast alongside sea buckthorn and pumpkin held through autumn and sharpened into sorbet.
From Salon ● Mar. 8, 2026
Founded in 1933 as E. & J. Gallo Winery, the company in 2024 renamed itself to reflect its portfolio, which by then had grown beyond wine to include distilled spirits, malt beverages and ready-to-drink cocktails.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 20, 2026
“I think it will be good for us,” Hoak said, while hauling 55-pound bags of malt.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 1, 2025
Afterward we’d all go to the malt shop for cheeseburgers and milk shakes.
From "The Red Umbrella" by Christina Gonzalez
When it first appeared on shelves most of the country wasn’t clamoring for domestic malts, and so the Notch’s arrival went largely ignored by a bourbon-swigging public.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 16, 2026
"The reduction of trade barriers in the Republic of Korea will further enhance Scotch Whisky's access to an important market, especially for single malts."
From BBC ● Dec. 15, 2025
Many recent technological advances in production help nonalcoholic beer maintain fermentation characteristics derived from the malts, hops and yeast, thus providing a more balanced and pleasant product that tastes like "real" beer.
From Salon ● Dec. 13, 2023
"With no Australian malt available, the prices of other malts has become crazy."
From Reuters ● Sep. 29, 2023
She thought all she had to do was drink malts full of Dr. Dee’s Nerve and Flesh Builder, eat pork, and she’d put on enough weight to fill out the back of her dress.
From "Jazz" by Toni Morrison
But the federal government didn’t even recognize American single malt—whiskey made from 100% malted barley produced at one U.S. distillery—as a spirits category until 2025.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 16, 2026
Without that moisture, the candy turns into a crispy structure with an interior texture that resembles a chocolate malted ball.
From BBC ● Dec. 5, 2025
“And the Welsh have everything that we have: They have decent water, they have malted barley, and they have yeast, so they can make good whisky.”
From New York Times ● Jan. 14, 2024
The palate includes almond nougat, crème brûlée, black tea, white flower petals and malted milk balls.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 16, 2023
“You know,” I said, “you ought to throw away that jar of malted milk you have in there.”
From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt
"At Berryfields, we found evidence of malting and brewing and the tanks used to steep the grain before processing," he said.
From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2024
But in the absence of Australian malting barley, many Chinese craft brewers turned to alternatives such as French or Canadian malt.
From Reuters ● Sep. 29, 2023
Additionally, its small size means it falls through the perforations at the bottoms of malting kettles designed to accommodate larger barley kernels.
From Salon ● Sep. 21, 2023
After the malting operation closed, the building fell into disrepair.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 1, 2022
He walked back to Strawberry and began malting the hissing noises that grooms make.
From "The Magician's Nephew" by C. S. Lewis
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
