melt
melt Lexical Profile
melt Game Scores & Validity
• verb
To become or cause to become liquefied by heat.
"The warm afternoon sun quickly melted the frost on the windshield."
To become or make someone more tender, sympathetic, or gentle in feeling.
"Her stern expression melted into a warm smile when she saw the puppy."
To pass, fade, or blend gradually and imperceptibly into another state or surroundings.
"As dusk fell, the distant hills melted into the darkening horizon."
• noun
An act, process, or period of melting, especially of snow or ice.
"The rapid spring melt caused the mountain streams to swell over their banks."
A hot sandwich or dish topped with cheese that has been heated until melted.
"She ordered a classic tuna melt with a side of tomato soup for lunch."
Molten metal, glass, or rock, or the specific quantity of such material melted in a single operation.
"The foundry workers carefully tested the chemical composition of the melt before pouring it into the molds."
Word Nuance & Usage
The archaic irregular past participle 'molten' is now used solely as an attributive adjective for substances requiring extreme heat to liquefy (such as molten lava or molten iron), whereas the regular form 'melted' is used for all verb tenses and everyday items like melted butter.
• Rhymes for melt
Word Origin & Etymology
From Old English meltan ('to become liquid, consume by fire') merged with the causative verb mieltan ('to liquefy, digest'), both ultimately derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *meld- ('soft, mild').
Usage Trend
Historical frequency of usage in published text.