Word forms: plural, 3rd person singular presenttense melts, present participle melting, past tense, past participle melted
1. verb
When a solid substance melts or when you melt it, it changes to a liquid, usually because it has been heated.
The snow had melted, but the lake was still frozen solid. [VERB]
Meanwhile, melt the white chocolate in a bowl suspended over simmering water. [VERB noun]
Add the melted butter, molasses, salt, and flour. [VERB-ed]
2. verb
If something such as your feelings melt, they suddenly disappear and you no longer feel them.
[literary]
His anxiety about the outcome melted, to return later but not yet. [VERB]
He would have struggled but his strength had melted. [VERB]
Melt away means the same as melt.
When he heard these words, Shinran felt his inner doubts melt away. [VERBPARTICLE]
Synonyms: disappear, fade, vanish, dissolve More Synonyms of melt
3. verb
If a person or thing melts into something such as darkness or a crowd of people, they become difficult to see, for example because they are moving away from you or are the same colour as the background.
[literary]
The youths dispersed and melted into the darkness. [VERB + into]
The squadron's armour is draped in sand-coloured nets that melt into the landscape. [VERBinto noun]
Synonyms: vanish, fade (away), go away, evaporate More Synonyms of melt
4. verb
If someone or something melts your heart, or if your heart melts, you start to feel love or sympathy towards them.
When his lips break into a smile, it is enough to melt any woman's heart. [VERB noun]
When a bride walks down the aisle to a stirring tune, even the iciest of hearts melt. [VERB]
Synonyms: soften, touch, relax, disarm More Synonyms of melt
5. countable noun [usually noun NOUN]
A melt is a piece of bread which has meat or fish on it, and melted cheese on top.
[US]
...a tuna melt.
Phrasal verbs:
See melt away
See melt down
More Synonyms of melt
melt in British English
(mɛlt)
verbWord forms: melts, melting, melted, melted or 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 (ˈmeltable)
adjective
meltability (ˌmeltaˈbility)
noun
melter (ˈmelter)
noun
Word origin
Old English meltan to digest; related to Old Norse melta to malt (beer), digest, Greek meldein to melt
melt in American English
(mɛlt)
verb transitive, verb intransitive
1.
to change from a solid to a liquid state, generally by heat
2.
to dissolve; disintegrate
3.
to disappear or cause to disappear gradually
often with away
4.
to merge gradually; blend
the sea melting into the sky
5.
to soften; make or become gentle and tender
a story to melt our hearts
noun
6.
a melting or being melted
7.
something melted
8.
the quantity melted at one operation or during one period
9.
a dish, esp. a grilled sandwich, containing or covered with a layer of melted cheese
a tuna melt
Idioms:
melt down
melt in your mouth
SYNONYMY NOTE: melt implies the bringing of a substance from its solid to its liquid state, usually byheat [to melt butter]; dissolve refers specifically to the reduction of a solid to a liquid by placing it in anotherliquid so that its particles are evenly distributed among those of the solvent [to dissolve sugar in water]; liquefy is the general term meaning to change to a liquid state and may be applied to gasesas well as solids; , thaw implies the reducing of a frozen substance to its normal state, usually to a liquidor a semiliquid, by raising its temperature [the ice has thawed]
OPPOSITES: solidify, freeze
Derived forms
meltable (ˈmeltable)
adjective
melter (ˈmelter)
noun
meltingly (ˈmeltingly)
adverb
Word origin
ME melten < OE vi. meltan, vt. mieltan < IE *meld-, soft < base *mel-, to grind > mill1
More idioms containing
melt
butter wouldn't melt in someone's mouth
Examples of 'melt' in a sentence
melt
Melt the remaining butter in the pan.
The Sun (2017)
Sprinkle the parmesan on top and allow the steam to melt the cheese.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
His incredible story will melt your heart.
The Sun (2016)
Neither do you want molten droplets of metal floating around.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
The worries of the day melt away with each stroke.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over a medium heat until foaming.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Put the dish under the grill to melt the cheese.
Times, Sunday Times (2017)
Eyebrows to die for and a voice to melt your heart and Toblerone in two.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Place in a large roasting tin and brush the entire surface of the turkey with melted butter.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
Watch carefully and remove the tray from under the grill as soon as the cheese has melted.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
The rest of the explanation seeps out gradually as midnight melts into the early hours.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
It was pouring like molten gold down his hand.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
He jumped off and melted into the crowd.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
This is a love song that will melt all teenage hearts.
The Sun (2015)
Squeeze a little lemon juice on top and brush the top fillets with melted butter.
Conil, Jean & Conil, Christopher (ed) A Passion for Food (1989)
We all sit atop a melted metal sphere.
Richard Fortey THE EARTH: An Intimate History (2004)
No one was saying the air will warm enough to melt all that.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
Warm a large pot over a gentle heat and melt the butter.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
Sure he could do with a game where he melts into the background.
The Sun (2006)
The irony melts away the older you get.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
Warm until the butter is melted and the ingredients are well blended.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
Melt the butter over a gentle heat.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
Return to the heat and stir continuously until the cheese has melted.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
Gradually the lines melt between the watcher and the watched.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
Canadians value mosaic over melting pot.
Christianity Today (2000)
To help pay for these reforms he had silver cannons melted down and sold off a piece of carpet made entirely of pearls.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
America has always been a melting pot for people, but it has also become a melting pot for products from around the world.
Al Ries and Laura Ries THE 22 IMMUTABLE LAWS OF BRANDING (2002)
In other languages
melt
British English: melt /mɛlt/ VERB
solid When you melt a solid substance, it changes to a liquid because of being heated.
Meanwhile, melt the white chocolate in a bowl suspended over simmering water.
American English: melt
Arabic: يُذِيبُ
Brazilian Portuguese: derreter
Chinese: 融化
Croatian: rastopiti
Czech: rozpustit máslo
Danish: smelte
Dutch: doen smelten
European Spanish: derretir
Finnish: sulattaa
French: faire fondre
German: schmelzen
Greek: λιώνω
Italian: sciogliere
Japanese: 溶かす
Korean: (...을) 녹이다
Norwegian: smelte
Polish: stopić
European Portuguese: derreter
Romanian: a topi
Russian: плавить
Latin American Spanish: derretir
Swedish: smälta
Thai: ละลาย ทำให้หลอมละลาย
Turkish: erimek
Ukrainian: розтоплювати
Vietnamese: làm tan chảy
British English: melt /mɛlt/ VERB
solid When a solid substance melts, it changes to a liquid because of being heated.