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

"London has always been a melting pot of diversity and celebrating communities."

From BBC ● Jul. 31, 2026

The American South in the 1950s might not have been a global melting pot, but black people had been around as long as whites and were as American as anybody else.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 6, 2026

What 250 years means: For me, America just represents a mixture, we welcome everybody, we’re a melting pot.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 2, 2026

“The U.S. Open is reflective of the diverse melting pot that is New York City when it comes to style,” said Jessica Schiffer, who writes the tennis newsletter “Hard Court.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 15, 2026

Here they encountered a melting pot of Afroasiatic and Nilo-Saharan farmers and herders growing millet and sorghum and raising livestock in drier areas, along with Khoisan hunter-gatherers.

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

Related Words

• fusion
• pluralism