smelter

[smel-ter]

noun

1. a person or thing that smelts.

2. a person who owns or works in a place where ores are smelted.

3. a place where ores are smelted.

smelter

/ ˈsmɛltə /

noun

1. a person engaged in smelting

2. Also called: smeltery. an industrial plant in which smelting is carried out

Word History and Origins

Origin of smelter¹

First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English; smelt ¹ + -er ¹

Example Sentences

The ore’s refined intermediate product—alumina—must go through electrolysis at a smelter to break aluminum’s strong bond to oxygen.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

“A prolonged disruption at the Grasberg mine could drive copper prices even higher, while intensifying supply challenges for smelters already facing feedstock shortages,” analysts at ING said.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Building a smelter for metal recycling is a lot faster than getting a mine up and running, Schultheis said.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

"The plants don't flower like they used to," he says, complaining that the smell from the smelter is so bad that it keeps him awake at night.

Read more on BBC

One of their jobs was salvaging metal, including railway track, abandoned by British Aluminium which operated a smelter in Fort William.

Read more on BBC