melt

[ melt ]

/ mɛlt /

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verb (used without object), melt·ed, melt·ed or mol·ten, melt·ing.

to become liquefied by warmth or heat, as ice, snow, butter, or metal.

to become liquid; dissolve: Let the cough drop melt in your mouth.

to pass, dwindle, or fade gradually (often followed by away): His fortune slowly melted away.

to pass, change, or blend gradually (often followed by into): Night melted into day.

to become softened in feeling by pity, sympathy, love, or the like: The tyrant's heart would not melt.

Obsolete. to be subdued or overwhelmed by sorrow, dismay, etc.

verb (used with object), melt·ed, melt·ed or mol·ten, melt·ing.

to reduce to a liquid state by warmth or heat; fuse: Fire melts ice.

to cause to pass away or fade.

to cause to pass, change, or blend gradually.

to soften in feeling, as a person or the heart.

noun

the act or process of melting; state of being melted.

something that is melted.

a quantity melted at one time.

a sandwich or other dish topped with melted cheese: a tuna melt.

Nearby words

melotia, melpomene, melrose, melrose abbey, melrose park, melt, melt in one's mouth, meltage, meltdown, meltemi, melter

Origin of melt

before 900; Middle English melten, Old English meltan (intransitive), m(i)elten (transitive) to melt, digest; cognate with Old Norse melta to digest, Greek méldein to melt

SYNONYMS FOR melt

1 Melt, dissolve, fuse, thaw imply reducing a solid substance to a liquid state. To melt is to bring a solid to a liquid condition by the agency of heat: to melt butter. Dissolve, though sometimes used interchangeably with melt, applies to a different process, depending upon the fact that certain solids, placed in certain liquids, distribute their particles throughout the liquids: A greater number of solids can be dissolved in water and in alcohol than in any other liquids. To fuse is to subject a solid (usually a metal) to a very high temperature; it applies especially to melting or blending metals together: Bell metal is made by fusing copper and tin. To thaw is to restore a frozen substance to its normal (liquid, semiliquid, or more soft and pliable) state by raising its temperature above the freezing point: Sunshine will thaw ice in a lake.

4 dwindle.

10 gentle, mollify, relax.

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Related forms

melt·a·ble, adjectivemelt·a·bil·i·ty, nounmelt·ing·ly, adverbmelt·ing·ness, noun

non·melt·a·ble, adjectivenon·melt·ing, adjectiveun·melt·a·ble, adjectiveun·melt·ed, adjectiveun·melt·ing, adjective

Can be confusedevanescence evaporation liquefaction melting thawing transpiration vaporization

Definition for melt (2 of 2)

melt

[ melt ]

/ mɛlt /

noun

the spleen, especially that of a cow, pig, etc.

Also milt.

Origin of melt

First recorded in 1575–85; variant of milt

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for melt

While the beans are cooling and drying, melt the butter in a saute pan over medium heat.
Make Carla Hall’s Crispy Shallot Green Bean Casserole|Carla Hall|December 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Add chocolate and butter to the bowl and melt, stirring to combine.
Carla Hall’s Christmas Day Treat: Rum Balls|Carla Hall|December 25, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Melt butter and marshmallow in big stock pot then add puffed rice cereal.
Epic Meal Empire’s Meat Monstrosities: From the Bacon Spider to the Cinnabattleship|Harley Morenstein|July 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Friction between air and the weapon creates temperatures of up to 3,500 degrees Fahrenheit, hot enough to melt steel.
Death at Five Times the Speed of Sound|Kyle Mizokami|June 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Combined, those give the planet a year-round surface temperature hot enough to melt lead.
What Does the Discovery of “Another Earth” Mean for Us?|Matthew R. Francis|April 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The fence begins to melt as if in a haze and the logic of clearing this vast expanse of earth and rock escapes him.
The Land of Look Behind|Paul Cameron Brown
"He will melt if you leave him on that shelf near the hot stove," went on the cook.
The Story of a Candy Rabbit|Laura Lee Hope
Pack the roasting pieces, which you do not want soon, in a barrel of snow, and set it where it will not melt.
The Young Housekeeper's Friend|Mrs. (Mary Hooker) Cornelius
As these bergs float southward with the currents, they melt very rapidly.
The Ocean and its Wonders|R.M. Ballantyne
Strain, melt butter in a saucepan, stir into it the flour, add strained water from the pan.
My Pet Recipes, Tried and True|Various

British Dictionary definitions for melt

melt

/ (mɛlt) /

verb melts, melting, melted, melted or molten (ˈməʊltən)

to liquefy (a solid) or (of a solid) to become liquefied, as a result of the action of heat

to become or make liquid; dissolvecakes that melt in the mouth

(often foll by away) to disappear; fade

(foll by down) to melt (metal scrap) for reuse

(often foll by into) to blend or cause to blend gradually

to make or become emotional or sentimental; soften

noun

the act or process of melting

something melted or an amount melted

Derived Forms

meltable, adjectivemeltability, nounmelter, nounmeltingly, adverb

meltingness, noun

Word Origin for melt

Old English meltan to digest; related to Old Norse melta to malt (beer), digest, Greek meldein to melt

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for melt (1 of 2)

melt

Old English meltan "become liquid, consume by fire, burn up" (class III strong verb; past tense mealt, past participle molten), from Proto-Germanic *meltanan; fused with Old English gemæltan (Anglian), gemyltan (West Saxon) "make liquid," from Proto-Germanic *gamaltijanan (cf. Old Norse melta "to digest"), both from PIE *meldh-, (cf. Sanskrit mrduh "soft, mild," Greek meldein "to melt, make liquid," Latin mollis "soft, mild"), from root *mel- "soft," with derivatives referring to soft or softened (especially ground) materials (see mild). Figurative use by c.1200. Related: Melted; melting.

Of food, to melt in (one's) mouth is from 1690s. Melting pot is from 1540s; figurative use from 1855; popularized with reference to America by play "The Melting Pot" by Israel Zangwill (1908).

Word Origin and History for melt (1 of 2)

melt

1854, "molten metal," from melt (v.). In reference to a type of sandwich topped by melted cheese, 1980, American English.

Science definitions for melt

melt

[ mĕlt ]

To change from a solid to a liquid state by heating or being heated with sufficient energy at the melting point. See also heat of fusion.

Idioms and Phrases with melt

melt

In addition to the idiom beginning with melt

melt in one's mouth

also see:

butter wouldn't melt

melt

verb (used without object), melt·ed, melt·ed or mol·ten, melt·ing.

verb (used with object), melt·ed, melt·ed or mol·ten, melt·ing.

noun

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RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of melt

Definition for melt (2 of 2)

melt

noun

Origin of melt

Examples from the Web for melt

British Dictionary definitions for melt

melt

verb melts, melting, melted, melted or molten (ˈməʊltən)

noun

Word Origin for melt

Word Origin and History for melt (1 of 2)

melt

Word Origin and History for melt (1 of 2)

melt

Science definitions for melt

melt

Idioms and Phrases with melt

melt