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melt

(mĕlt)

v. melt·ed, melt·ing, melts

v.intr.

1. To be changed from a solid to a liquid state especially by the application of heat.

2. To dissolve: Sugar melts in water.

3. To disappear or vanish gradually as if by dissolving: The crowd melted away after the rally.

4. To pass or merge imperceptibly into something else: Sea melted into sky along the horizon.

5. To become softened in feeling: Our hearts melted at the child's tears.

6. Obsolete To be overcome or crushed, as by grief, dismay, or fear.

v.tr.

1. To change (a solid) to a liquid state especially by the application of heat.

2. To dissolve: The tide melted our sand castle away.

3. To cause to disappear gradually; disperse.

4. To cause (units) to blend: "Here individuals of all races are melted into a new race of men" (Michel Guillaume Jean de Crèvecoeur).

5. To soften (someone's feelings); make gentle or tender.

1. A melted solid; a fused mass.

2. The state of being melted.

a. The act or operation of melting.

b. The quantity melted at a single operation or in one period.

4. A usually open sandwich topped with melted cheese: a tuna melt.

Phrasal Verb:

melt down

1. To undergo a meltdown. Used of a nuclear reactor.

2. To undergo a failure or collapse.

3. To become very angry or upset.

[Middle English melten, from Old English meltan; see mel-¹ in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.]

melt′a·bili·ty n.

melta·ble adj.

melter n.

melting·ly adv.

melty adj.

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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