molt

American  

[mohlt] / moʊlt /

especially British, moult

verb (used without object)

• molts,
  present (3rd person singular)
• molted,
  past participle,  past
• molting
  present participle

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

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verb (used with object)

• molts,
  present (3rd person singular)
• molted,
  past participle,  past
• molting
  present participle

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

noun

• molts
  plural

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

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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.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• molter
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• molts
  plural

Participles

• molting
  present
• molted
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• molt
  simple
• molts
  simple
• have molted
  perfect
• has molted
  perfect
• am molting
  progressive
• are molting
  progressive
• is molting
  progressive
• have been molting
  perfect progressive
• has been molting
  perfect progressive

Past

• molted
  simple
• had molted
  perfect
• was molting
  progressive
• were molting
  progressive
• had been molting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will molt
  simple
• will have molted
  perfect
• will be molting
  progressive
• will have been molting
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of molt

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

Explanation

When an animal molts, it loses its feathers, fur, skin or maybe even outer skeleton. People don't molt, but plenty of animals do as a normal part of their life cycle. Despite the guarantees made by late night advertisements, once a human is bald, he's bald forever. Not so for many animals who routinely lose and gain hair, skin or feathers. Think of shedding dogs and snakes crawling out of their old skins. This is the process known as molting. Insects that molt lose their shells or wings, often a sign that they're entering a different part of their life cycle.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

molt molts molted molting

The termites continued toward their next molt, but eventually failed to complete it successfully and died.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 19, 2026

He was in molt, a sketchy splotch of red and black while he waited for his new plumage.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026

This isn’t just teenage dramatics: Elephant seals don’t hunt or eat as they molt, so he’s hungry and tired and will sleep wherever he damn pleases.

From Salon ● Jul. 7, 2026

And crabs need that deep substrate to safely molt, or they risk being eaten by a hungry tankmate.

From Slate ● Aug. 19, 2025

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

The final step in the metamorphosis, if all goes well: The case splits open, and the winged creature molts, ready to take its first flight in pursuit of prey, leaving the exuviae behind.

From Seattle Times ● Aug. 11, 2022

Because molting can be so energetically costly, birds schedule their molts between other demanding tasks, like breeding and migration.

From Slate ● Nov. 24, 2020

A few days, a few molts, and a few milkweed leaves later, the caterpillar was about a half-inch long and fattening up, following a timetable nearly as reliable as a Swiss watch.

From The New Yorker ● Feb. 20, 2019

The young caterpillars go through five series of molts and instars over a period of 10 to 14 days before forming their chrysalis and transforming within it for seven to 10 days.

From Washington Times ● Jun. 4, 2017

As it gets bigger it molts several times, splitting the old skin with its head and wriggling out, revealing stretchy skin underneath.

From "The Girl Who Drew Butterflies: How Maria Merian's Art Changed Science" by Joyce Sidman

Pinky’s fame grew even as the bird bent, molted and faded with each turn of the calendar.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 29, 2026

“The lobster has molted into its final form,” Steinberger wrote in a blog post about the name change—a nod at his platform’s lobster-centric branding.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 4, 2026

The only drawback is that smoked shrimp can be harder to peel — particularly thinner-shelled shrimp that have recently molted.

From Salon ● Jul. 18, 2023

Their nests are made of things snatched from the air: strands of dried grass pulled aloft by thermals; molted pigeon-breast feathers; flower petals, leaves, scraps of paper, even butterflies.

From New York Times ● Jul. 29, 2020

“I forgot — it was the custard creams we hexed —” Within a minute, however, Neville had molted, and once his feathers had fallen off, he reappeared looking entirely normal.

From "Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire" by J. K. Rowling

They hoped to disrupt the molting process of cicada nymphs, which need to shed their outer layer to emerge as adults.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 30, 2026

Elephant seals live in open water, but it’s common for them to return to where they were born for molting season, when they shed their topmost layer of skin and fur.

From Salon ● Jul. 7, 2026

A detailed analysis revealed that the molting pattern was irregular rather than orderly.

From Science Daily ● Mar. 18, 2026

Filming took place between October and January, to avoid molting season.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 12, 2025

The first thing he noticed was that the gull’s head was molting and turning white, though a dark brown patch remained behind each eye.

From "Watership Down: A Novel" by Richard Adams