melt

The word “melt” means to turn from a solid into a liquid through heat. In plain terms, to change from solid to liquid with heat, or — figuratively — to soften emotionally.

“Melt” is pronounced mehlt (/mɛlt/ in IPA).

Here is “melt” used in a sentence: “The ice cream melted quickly in the summer heat.”

Depending on how it is used, “melt” can be a verb and a noun.

The word “melt” comes from Old English. From Old English meltan and mieltan, both meaning "to melt," going back to a Proto-Germanic root shared with words for digesting — melting and digesting were once seen as the same kind of "breaking down.".

“Melt” is a fairly common word in modern English, usually learned at around the B1 level.

“Melt” has 3 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: to turn from a solid into a liquid through heat.

To melt is to turn a solid into a liquid using heat, as when ice melts in the sun. To dissolve is to mix a solid into a liquid so it seems to disappear, as when sugar dissolves in water; dissolving needs a liquid solvent, while melting needs only heat.

Both involve solids becoming softer or liquid, but thawing specifically means warming something frozen back to its normal state, such as thawing frozen meat. Melting turns a solid fully into a liquid through heat and can apply to things that were never frozen, like melting butter or wax.

A melt is a sandwich or dish topped with melted cheese, typically grilled or toasted so the cheese turns soft and gooey. A tuna melt, for example, is a tuna sandwich covered with cheese and heated until it melts.