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. 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. meltable adj. & n. melter n. meltingly adv.
[ OE meltan, mieltan f. Gmc, rel. to MALT ]