melt1

[melt] /mɛlt/
verb (used without object), melted, melted or molten, melting.
1.
to become liquefied by warmth or heat, as ice, snow, butter, or metal.
2.
to become liquid; dissolve:
Let the cough drop melt in your mouth.
3.
to pass, dwindle, or fade gradually (often followed by away):
His fortune slowly melted away.
4.
to pass, change, or blend gradually (often followed by into):
Night melted into day.
5.
to become softened in feeling by pity, sympathy, love, or the like:
The tyrant's heart would not melt.
6.
Obsolete. to be subdued or overwhelmed by sorrow, dismay, etc.
verb (used with object), melted, melted or molten, melting.
7.
to reduce to a liquid state by warmth or heat; fuse:
Fire melts ice.
8.
to cause to pass away or fade.
9.
to cause to pass, change, or blend gradually.
10.
to soften in feeling, as a person or the heart.
noun
11.
the act or process of melting; state of being melted.
12.
something that is melted.
13.
a quantity melted at one time.
14.
a sandwich or other dish topped with melted cheese:
a tuna melt.
Origin
before 900; Middle English melten, Old English meltan (intransitive), m(i)elten (transitive) to melt, digest; cognate with Old Norse melta to digest, Greek méldein to melt
Related forms
meltable, adjective
meltability, noun
meltingly, adverb
meltingness, noun
nonmeltable, adjective
nonmelting, adjective
unmeltable, adjective
unmelted, adjective
unmelting, adjective
Can be confused
evanescence, evaporation, liquefaction, melting, thawing, transpiration, vaporization.
Synonyms
1. Melt, dissolve, fuse, thaw imply reducing a solid substance to a liquid state. To melt is to bring a solid to a liquid condition by the agency of heat: to melt butter. Dissolve, though sometimes used interchangeably with melt, applies to a different process, depending upon the fact that certain solids, placed in certain liquids, distribute their particles throughout the liquids: A greater number of solids can be dissolved in water and in alcohol than in any other liquids. To fuse is to subject a solid (usually a metal) to a very high temperature; it applies especially to melting or blending metals together: Bell metal is made by fusing copper and tin. To thaw is to restore a frozen substance to its normal (liquid, semiliquid, or more soft and pliable) state by raising its temperature above the freezing point: Sunshine will thaw ice in a lake. 4. dwindle. 10. gentle, mollify, relax.

melt2

[melt] /mɛlt/
noun
1.
the spleen, especially that of a cow, pig, etc.
Also, milt.
Origin
1575-85; variant of milt
Examples from the web for melt
  • Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally to melt red-hots, until apples are fork tender.
  • Rising temperatures help melt the ice, which in turn allows more solar heating of the ocean.
  • Polar ice is always melting, and also always growing as more snow falls that doesn't melt during the summer.
  • The warm air also can melt snow in the mountains, further aggravating flooding.
  • The scientists speculate that the lava flow may be changing the direction of the melt water flow.
  • On the other hand, you're likely to tread on ripe figs when they drop onto the ground and melt into a puddle of sticky syrup.
  • melt cheese over eggplant and polenta slices to make a tempting dinner.
  • They'll melt into a summery sauce months after your shorts have gone into storage.
  • Use a spoon to fill any empty spots with candy melt and make sure the cake is completely covered.
  • The current rate of sea ice melt is much faster than predicted by computer models of the global climate system.
British Dictionary definitions for melt

melt

/mɛlt/
verb melts, melting, melted, melted, molten (ˈməʊltən)
1.
to liquefy (a solid) or (of a solid) to become liquefied, as a result of the action of heat
2.
to become or make liquid; dissolve: cakes that melt in the mouth
3.
(often foll by away) to disappear; fade
4.
(foll by down) to melt (metal scrap) for reuse
5.
(often foll by into) to blend or cause to blend gradually
6.
to make or become emotional or sentimental; soften
noun
7.
the act or process of melting
8.
something melted or an amount melted
Derived Forms
meltable, adjective
meltability, noun
melter, noun
meltingly, adverb
meltingness, noun
Word Origin
Old English meltan to digest; related to Old Norse melta to malt (beer), digest, Greek meldein to melt
Word Origin and History for melt
v.

Old English meltan "become liquid, consume by fire, burn up" (class III strong verb; past tense mealt, past participle molten), from Proto-Germanic *meltanan; fused with Old English gemæltan (Anglian), gemyltan (West Saxon) "make liquid," from Proto-Germanic *gamaltijanan (cf. Old Norse melta "to digest"), both from PIE *meldh-, (cf. Sanskrit mrduh "soft, mild," Greek meldein "to melt, make liquid," Latin mollis "soft, mild"), from root *mel- "soft," with derivatives referring to soft or softened (especially ground) materials (see mild). Figurative use by c.1200. Related: Melted; melting.

Of food, to melt in (one's) mouth is from 1690s. Melting pot is from 1540s; figurative use from 1855; popularized with reference to America by play "The Melting Pot" by Israel Zangwill (1908).

n.

1854, "molten metal," from melt (v.). In reference to a type of sandwich topped by melted cheese, 1980, American English.

melt in Science
melt
  (mělt)   
To change from a solid to a liquid state by heating or being heated with sufficient energy at the melting point. See also heat of fusion.
Idioms and Phrases with melt

melt

In addition to the idiom beginning with melt also see: butter wouldn't melt