moult

[ mohlt ]

/ moʊlt /

verb (used with or without object), noun British.

molt.

Nearby words

Definition for moult (2 of 2)

molt

[ mohlt ]

/ moʊlt /

verb (used without object)

(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)

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

noun

an act, process, or an instance of molting.

something that is dropped in molting.

Also especially British, moult.

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

Related formsmolt·er, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for moult

As lobsters grow, they moult their hard exoskeletons—often eating them—which means that they can reach astonishing sizes.
My Big, Buttery Lobster Roll Rumble: We Came, We Clawed, We Conquered|Scott Bixby|June 7, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The adults who instructed the young in the water had finished their moult, and were themselves ready to depart.
Antarctic Penguins|George Murray Levick
But they eat and grow and moult like other larvæ until they are full-grown insects.
The Insect Folk|Margaret Warner Morley
The birds in this contest were all hatched early in March and were all through the moult before the cold weather came.
Outdoor Sports and Games|Claude H. Miller

The third moult takes place after another interval of 5–6 days, the eye-spots then becoming very prominent.
Studies in the Theory of Descent (Volumes 1 and 2)|August Weismann
During a moult the cuticle of the head is cast separately from that of the body.
Garden Pests in New Zealand|D. Miller

British Dictionary definitions for moult (1 of 2)

moult

US molt

/ (məʊlt) /

verb

(of birds, mammals, reptiles, and arthropods) to shed (feathers, hair, skin, or cuticle)

noun

the periodic process of moultingSee also ecdysis

Derived Formsmoulter or US molter, noun

Word Origin for moult

C14 mouten, from Old English mūtian, as in bimūtian to exchange for, from Latin mūtāre to change

British Dictionary definitions for moult (2 of 2)

molt

/ (məʊlt) /

verb, noun

the usual US spelling of moult

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for moult (1 of 2)

moult

see molt.

Word Origin and History for moult (1 of 2)

molt

also moult, mid-14c., mouten, of feathers, "to be shed," from Old English *mutian "to change" (cf. bemutian "to exchange"), from Latin mutare "to change" (see mutable). Transitive sense, of birds, "to shed feathers" is first attested 1520s. With parasitic -l-, late 16c., on model of fault, etc. Related: Molted, moulted; molting, moulting. As a noun from 1815.

Medicine definitions for moult

molt

[ mōlt ]

v.

To shed periodically part or all of a coat or an outer covering, such as feathers, cuticle, or skin, which is then replaced by a new growth.

n.

The act or process of molting.

The material cast off during molting.

Science definitions for moult

molt

[ mōlt ]

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