molt

American  

[mohlt] / moʊlt /

especially British, moult

verb (used without object)

1. (of birds, insects, reptiles, etc.) to cast or shed the feathers, skin, or the like, that will be replaced by a new growth.

---

verb (used with object)

1. to cast or shed (feathers, skin, etc.) in the process of renewal.

noun

1. an act, process, or an instance of molting.

2. something that is dropped in molting.

molt British  

/ məʊlt /

verb

1. the usual US spelling of moult

---

molt Scientific  

/ mōlt /

1. To shed an outer covering, such as skin or feathers, for replacement by a new growth. Many snakes, birds, and arthropods molt.

---

Other Word Forms

• molter noun

Etymology

Origin of molt

1300–50; earlier mout (with intrusive -l-; fault, assault ), Middle English mouten, Old English -mūtian to change (in bi-mūtian to exchange for) < Latin mūtāre to change; mutate

Example Sentences

They molt multiple times, eventually becoming something less shrimpy and more lobsterlike, called a megalopa.

From Slate • Aug. 19, 2025

Which pollutants stick, and which ones molt away?

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 7, 2025

Mr. Rave says that after the eggs hatch, many of the mothers go off to molt.

From NewsForKids.net • May 7, 2024

I evolved this trait for a reason and can’t molt it as easily as a rat flea sheds its skin.

From Salon • Oct. 31, 2023

He had a sour, thin-lipped look even in sleep, and another resembled a reptile in molt, the skin of his face sloughing away in curls of dead skin.

From "Strange the Dreamer" by Laini Taylor