melting pot

American  

noun

• melting pots
  plural

1. a pot in which metals or other substances are melted or fused.

2. a country, locality, or situation in which cultural assimilation results in blending the heritage and traditions of previously distinct ethnic groups.

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melting pot British  

noun

1. a pot in which metals or other substances are melted, esp in order to mix them

2. an area in which many races, ideas, etc, are mixed

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melting pot Cultural  

1. A term expressing the view that immigrants to the United States have been fused or melted into a single people.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• melting pots
  plural

Etymology

Origin of melting pot

late Middle English word dating back to 1375–1425

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

melting pot

The big, green lady in the harbor and the melting pot and all that.

From Salon ● Sep. 11, 2026

We aren’t a melting pot; we remain one country without requiring everyone to become one thing.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026

Yet she argues that Kander’s work embodies not the melting pot but “culinary pluralism.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026

Marcos said fans were used to that, and the team is uniquely built to represent the nation's melting pot.

From BBC ● Jun. 19, 2026

Its “Sinification” involved the drastic homogenization of a huge region in an ancient melting pot, the repopulation of tropical Southeast Asia, and the exertion of a massive influence on Japan, Korea, and possibly even India.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond

Related Words

• fusion
• pluralism