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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

melt.

To change (or to be changed) from a solid state to a liquid state, usually by a gradual heat.

4 characters1 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

verb/mɛlt/
  1. To change (or to be changed) from a solid state to a liquid state, usually by a gradual heat.

    ergative
    I melted butter to make a cake.
    When the weather is warm, the snowman will disappear; he will melt.
  2. To dissolve, disperse, vanish.

    figuratively · intransitive
    His troubles melted away.
  3. 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.

    ambitransitive · figuratively
  4. To be discouraged.

    intransitive
  5. To be emotionally softened or touched.

    figuratively · intransitive
    She melted when she saw the romantic message in the Valentine's Day card.
    My heart melted when I first heard the song.
  6. To be very hot and sweat profusely.

    colloquial · intransitive
    I need shade! I'm melting!
Where this word comes from

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”).

noun/mɛlt/
  1. Molten material, the product of melting.

    countable · uncountable
  2. The transition of matter from a solid state to a liquid state.

    countable · uncountable
  3. The springtime snow runoff in mountain regions.

    countable · uncountable
  4. A melt sandwich.

    countable · uncountable
  5. Rock showing evidence of having been remelted after it originally solidified.

    countable · uncountable
    Numerous samples of breccia and impact melts were recovered by drilling into the floor of the crater.
  6. A wax-based substance for use in an oil burner as an alternative to mixing oils and water.

    countable · uncountable
  7. A soft, soppy, or overly emotional person.

    UK · countable · derogatory · slang · uncountable
  8. A centre-left or liberal person, when in opposition to a leftist; (especially) a critic of Jeremy Corbyn within the Labour Party.

    UK · countable · derogatory · slang · uncountable
  9. Alternative spelling of milt (“the semen of a male fish, used as food”).

    alt-of · alternative · countable · uncountable
Where this word comes from

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”).

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.