melted; melting; melts
1
: to become altered from a solid to a liquid state usually by heat
2
a
: dissolve, disintegrate
the sugar melted in the coffee
b
: to disappear as if by dissolving
her anger melted at his kind words
3
obsolete
: to become subdued or crushed (as by sorrow)
4
: to become mild, tender, or gentle
5
: to lose outline or distinctness : blend
1
: to reduce from a solid to a liquid state usually by heat
2
: to cause to disappear or disperse
3
: to make tender or gentle : soften
Synonyms
Examples of melt in a Sentence
Verb
The butter melted in the frying pan.
The snow is finally melting.
She melted butter in the frying pan.
a tablespoon of melted butter
Their determination melted in the face of opposition.
She melted at his kindly words.
Her heart melted with compassion.
Recent Examples on the Web
Ned Kleiner, Los Angeles Times, 6 Apr. 2024
Either way, scientists determined the animal was the rare offspring of a polar bear that mated with a grizzly, and as the Arctic melts and polar bears increasingly move on land, sightings of these hybrids are on the rise.
—Ella Nilsen, CNN, 6 Apr. 2024
In October 2023, Duo appeared to be melting like a popsicle in its icon.
—The Enquirer, 5 Apr. 2024
Paired with heavy winds, drifting snow accumulated on roads, but mild temperatures were expected to melt snow through the day.
—David Clarey, Journal Sentinel, 3 Apr. 2024
The above-average snowpack balance strikes a happy medium between too much snow, which can lead to flooding as the state’s frozen reservoir melts, and too little snow, which could plunge the state back into drought conditions.
—Scooty Nickerson, The Mercury News, 2 Apr. 2024
Meanwhile, the Wide Awakes refused to melt away like campaign organizations were supposed to do.
—Jon Grinspan, Smithsonian Magazine, 1 Apr. 2024
The years of angst of having to perform in Munich seemed to melt away like the hundreds of visitors that left the Allianz Arena early when Bayern’s defeat became a reality.
—Manuel Veth, Forbes, 30 Mar. 2024
Place the pan on the middle oven rack and your cheese will melt just fine.
—Robin Miller, The Arizona Republic, 26 Mar. 2024
A. Camden Walker, Washington Post, 21 Jan. 2024
Bake on bottom rack 13-15 minutes, until cheese melts and bottom is brown.
—Rita Nader Heikenfeld, The Enquirer, 17 Feb. 2024
But as ice disappears, those areas absorb more solar energy, raising land surface temperatures, which can cause further melt and other negative impacts.
—Angela Dewan, CNN, 13 Feb. 2024
As a result, ice melt and warming in the Arctic gets worse.
—Simrin Singh, CBS News, 6 Mar. 2024
Ice melt also increases the amount of water in lakes, where water absorbs more heat than snow, which increases land surface temperatures.
—Angela Dewan, CNN, 13 Feb. 2024
Future sea-level rise mainly depends on future ice melt, which depends on future greenhouse gas emissions.
—E&e News, Scientific American, 20 Nov. 2023
Armed with the size and number of impactors, Marchi and colleagues built a model that describes, as a function of time, the volume of melt this battering must have produced at the Earth’s surface.
—Alka Tripathy-Lang, Ars Technica, 26 Jan. 2024
Some of the flooding that's impacting the Midwest and the Northeast is due to the heavy rain on top of snow melt and ice jams.
—Max Golembo, ABC News, 26 Jan. 2024
Verb
Finally, and perhaps most important, hotter temperatures will cause the snowpack to melt more rapidly, causing two opposite problems.
—Ned Kleiner, Los Angeles Times, 6 Apr. 2024
Either way, scientists determined the animal was the rare offspring of a polar bear that mated with a grizzly, and as the Arctic melts and polar bears increasingly move on land, sightings of these hybrids are on the rise.
—Ella Nilsen, CNN, 6 Apr. 2024
In October 2023, Duo appeared to be melting like a popsicle in its icon.
—The Enquirer, 5 Apr. 2024
Paired with heavy winds, drifting snow accumulated on roads, but mild temperatures were expected to melt snow through the day.
—David Clarey, Journal Sentinel, 3 Apr. 2024
The above-average snowpack balance strikes a happy medium between too much snow, which can lead to flooding as the state’s frozen reservoir melts, and too little snow, which could plunge the state back into drought conditions.
—Scooty Nickerson, The Mercury News, 2 Apr. 2024
Meanwhile, the Wide Awakes refused to melt away like campaign organizations were supposed to do.
—Jon Grinspan, Smithsonian Magazine, 1 Apr. 2024
The years of angst of having to perform in Munich seemed to melt away like the hundreds of visitors that left the Allianz Arena early when Bayern’s defeat became a reality.
—Manuel Veth, Forbes, 30 Mar. 2024
Place the pan on the middle oven rack and your cheese will melt just fine.
—Robin Miller, The Arizona Republic, 26 Mar. 2024
Noun
Keep in mind, some patches of slick ice could refreeze from daytime melt.
—A. Camden Walker, Washington Post, 21 Jan. 2024
Bake on bottom rack 13-15 minutes, until cheese melts and bottom is brown.
—Rita Nader Heikenfeld, The Enquirer, 17 Feb. 2024
But as ice disappears, those areas absorb more solar energy, raising land surface temperatures, which can cause further melt and other negative impacts.
—Angela Dewan, CNN, 13 Feb. 2024
As a result, ice melt and warming in the Arctic gets worse.
—Simrin Singh, CBS News, 6 Mar. 2024
Ice melt also increases the amount of water in lakes, where water absorbs more heat than snow, which increases land surface temperatures.
—Angela Dewan, CNN, 13 Feb. 2024
Future sea-level rise mainly depends on future ice melt, which depends on future greenhouse gas emissions.
—E&e News, Scientific American, 20 Nov. 2023
Armed with the size and number of impactors, Marchi and colleagues built a model that describes, as a function of time, the volume of melt this battering must have produced at the Earth’s surface.
—Alka Tripathy-Lang, Ars Technica, 26 Jan. 2024
Some of the flooding that's impacting the Midwest and the Northeast is due to the heavy rain on top of snow melt and ice jams.
—Max Golembo, ABC News, 26 Jan. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'melt.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Melt.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/melt. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
melt
1 of 2 verb1
: to change from a solid to a liquid state usually through heat
melt butter
snow melts
2
: dissolve sense 1
the sugar melted in the coffee
3
: to grow less : disappear
clouds melting away
4
: to make or become gentle : soften
a warm smile melts the heart
melter
noun
melt
2 of 2 noun
: a melted substance
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