melt

Verb

1. (ergative) To change (or to be changed) from a solid state to a liquid state, usually by a gradual heat.
2. (figuratively, intransitive) To dissolve, disperse, vanish.
3. (figuratively, transitive) To soften, as by a warming or kindly influence; to relax; to render gentle or susceptible to mild influences; sometimes, in a bad sense, to take away the firmness of; to weaken.
4. (intransitive) To be discouraged.
5. (figuratively, intransitive) To be emotionally softened or touched.
6. (colloquial, intransitive) To be very hot and sweat profusely.

Noun

1. (countable, uncountable) Molten material, the product of melting.
2. (countable, uncountable) The transition of matter from a solid state to a liquid state.
3. (countable, uncountable) The springtime snow runoff in mountain regions.
4. (countable, uncountable) A melt sandwich.
5. (countable, uncountable) Rock showing evidence of having been remelted after it originally solidified.
6. (countable, uncountable) A wax-based substance for use in an oil burner as an alternative to mixing oils and water.
7. (UK, countable, derogatory, slang, uncountable) An idiot.
8. (UK, countable, derogatory, slang, uncountable) A centre-left or liberal person, when in opposition to a leftist; (especially) a critic of Jeremy Corbyn within the Labour Party.
9. (countable, uncountable) Variant spelling of milt, the semen of a male fish, used as food.

Pronounced as (IPA)

/mɛlt/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: melten

Inherited from Old English: meltan

Cognate with Icelandic: melta

In summary

From Middle English melten, from a merger of Old English meltan (intransitive) and mieltan (transitive), both meaning “to melt, digest,” from Proto-West Germanic *meltan and *maltijan, from Proto-Germanic *meltaną and *maltijaną, both from Proto-Indo-European *(s)meld- (“melt”). Cognate with Icelandic melta (“to digest”).

Synonyms

dissolve

thaw

fuse

liquefy

smelt

soften

melting

liquify

defrost

unthaw

unfreeze

cast

run

thawing

melt down

flux

disappear

warm up

fade

mellow

liquidize

dethaw

boil

mellow out

disintegrate

fuze

fusion

wear out

dilute

caramelise

digest

liquate

caramelize

evaporate

pine

meld

languish

drip

dissolving

confess

dissolved

condense

dissolution

disperse

close

fusing

disband

clear off

blend in

absorb

Translations

fondre

schmelzen

derretir

fondere

derretirse

smelten

fundir

dégeler

derreter

sciogliersi

sciogliere

fondre

faire fondre

wegsmelten

fundir