melting pot

American  

noun

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.

---

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

---

melting pot Cultural  

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

---

Etymology

Origin of melting pot

late Middle English word dating back to 1375–1425

Example Sentences

"This is our fourth generation in Pakistan," he said, adding there are more than 106 Bengali neighbourhoods in Karachi, Pakistan's largest city which is known as a multicultural melting pot.

From Barron's

“Everything is in the melting pot,” he says.

From Los Angeles Times

Part of having a melting pot of a clubhouse means missing some key ingredients for an extended period of spring training.

From Los Angeles Times

Often, Lam’s canvases are cultural melting pots whose ingredients refuse to melt.

From The Wall Street Journal

Mr. Sayles notes that the U.S. is often quaintly likened to a melting pot; the reality of the country’s boiling admixture is much more dangerous and much more powerful.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• fusion
• pluralism