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