v. & n.
--v.
1. intr. become liquefied by heat.
2 tr. change to a liquid condition by heat.
3 tr. (as molten adj.) (usu. of materials that require a great deal of heat to melt them) liquefied by heat (molten lava; molten lead).
4 a intr. & tr. dissolve. b intr. (of food) be easily dissolved in the mouth.
5 intr. a (of a person, feelings, the heart, etc.) be softened as a result of pity, love, etc. b dissolve into tears.
6 tr. soften (a person, feelings, the heart, etc.) (a look to melt a heart of stone).
7 intr. (usu. foll. by into) change or merge imperceptibly into another form or state (night melted into dawn).
8 intr. (often foll. by away) (of a person) leave or disappear unobtrusively (melted into the background; melted away into the crowd).
9 intr. (usu. as melting adj.) (of sound) be soft and liquid (melting chords).
10 intr. colloq. (of a person) suffer extreme heat (I'm melting in this thick jumper).
--n.
1. liquid metal etc.
2 an amount melted at any one time.
3 the process or an instance of melting.
Phrases and idioms:
melt away disappear or make disappear by liquefaction. melt down
1. melt (esp. metal articles) in order to reuse the raw material.
2 become liquid and lose structure (cf. MELTDOWN). melting-point the temperature at which any given solid will melt.
melting-pot
1. a pot in which metals etc. are melted and mixed.
2 a place where races, theories, etc. are mixed, or an imaginary pool where ideas are mixed together. melt water water formed by the melting of snow and ice, esp. from a glacier.
Derivatives:
meltable adj. & n. melter n. meltingly adv.
Etymology: OE meltan, mieltan f. Gmc, rel. to MALT