melt

present singular third person melts · participle present melting · past melted · past rare molt · participle past melted · participle past rare molt · participle past molten · first person past singular melted · first person past singular molt · archaic present second person singular meltest · past second person singular melted · past second person singular molt · archaic past second person singular meltedst · present singular third person melts · archaic present singular third person melteth · past singular third person melted

1. ergativeTo change (or to be changed) from a solid state to a liquid state, usually by a gradual heat.

   I melted butter to make a cake.

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   When the weather is warm, the snowman will disappear; he will melt.

   Synonyms: to found, to thaw

2. figurativelyintransitiveTo dissolve, disperse, vanish.

   His troubles melted away.

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   I gave him a couple of Advil and, after a few minutes, urged him back onto the track. Over the next few laps his pained expression slowly melted, although he still shuffled with a slight limp.

   2008 October, Davy Rothbart, “How I caught up with dad”, in Men's Health, volume 23, number 8, →ISSN, page 110

3. ambitransitivefigurativelyTo soften, as by a warming or kindly influence; to relax; to render gentle or susceptible to mild influences; sometimes, in a bad sense, to take away the firmness of; to weaken.

   For pity melts the mind to love.

   1687, John Dryden, A Song for Cecilia's Day

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   Thou would'st have […] melted down thy youth.

   c. 1605–1608 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Life of Tymon of Athens”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene iii]

   The traveller hears me now and then, ⁠And sometimes harshly will he speak: ⁠‘This fellow would make weakness weak, And melt the waxen hearts of men.’

   1850, [Alfred, Lord Tennyson], “Canto XXI”, in In Memoriam, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC, page 35

   He was very dubious at first, but I believe the fellow is genuine in his attachment to the house. His final scruple melted when he learned that I should not require him to sit up with me.

   1923, Ernest Bramah [pseudonym; Ernest Brammah Smith], “(please specify the page)”, in The Eyes of Max Carrados, London: Grant Richards, →OCLC

4. intransitiveTo be discouraged.
5. figurativelyintransitiveTo be emotionally softened or touched.

   My heart melted when I first heard the song.

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   She melted when she saw the romantic message in the Valentine's Day card.

6. colloquialintransitiveTo be very hot and sweat profusely.

   I need shade! I'm melting!

plural melts

1. countableuncountableMolten material, the product of melting.

   The crust (a mere 1% of the Earth's volume) is made of lighter melt products from the mantle.

   2012, Chinle Miller, In Mesozoic Lands: The Mesozoic Geology of Arches and Canyonlands National Parks, Kindle edition

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   Users can see how a glacier at the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania retreated between December 1986 and 2020, as well as glacial melt in Sermersooq, Greenland, between December 2000 and 2020.

   2022 April 22, Toyin Owoseje, “Google marks Earth Day with doodle showing stark impacts of the climate crisis”, in CNN, archived from the original on 17 May 2022

2. countableuncountableThe transition of matter from a solid state to a liquid state.
3. countableuncountableThe springtime snow runoff in mountain regions.
4. countableuncountableA melt sandwich.

   I recently asked a group of people whether they had eaten tuna melts as a kid. Everyone remembered a version of this dish.

   2002, Tod Dimmick, Complete idiot's guide to 20-minute meals

5. countableuncountablegeographyRock showing evidence of having been remelted after it originally solidified.

   Numerous samples of breccia and impact melts were recovered by drilling into the floor of the crater.

6. countableuncountableA wax-based substance for use in an oil burner as an alternative to mixing oils and water.

   Synonyms: tart

7. UKcountablederogatoryslanguncountableA soft, soppy, or overly emotional person.

   Kiss it ya melt!

   2004 September 20, Diablos Rojos, “North South divide??”, in uk.sport.football.clubs.liverpool (Usenet)

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   You are from Blackburn you fucking melt...have a bastard word with yourself.

   2003 June 10, Roo, “See the Quality !!!”, in alt.sports.soccer.everton (Usenet)

   LOL! you fucking melt. Get a job.

   2006 May 30, Dave G, “England vs Hungary...”, in alt.sports.soccer.everton (Usenet)

   Over the course of this chapter on 'Love Island Essentials' we'll be charting exactly who went with who, showing you around the villa, and equipping you with the vocabulary you'll need to avoid looking like a melt and get grafting like a true Islander.

   2017, Love Island On Paper: The Official Love Island Guide to Grafting, Cracking On and Mugging Off, →ISBN, page 12

8. UKcountablederogatoryslanguncountablegovernmentA centre-left or liberal person, when in opposition to a leftist; (especially) a critic of Jeremy Corbyn within the Labour Party.

   Anyone who said different was a Tory, a melt or – worse – a Blairite. Centrists (mostly Labour voters) were the devil incarnate.

   2019 December 17, Suzanne Moore, “Let Labour’s fightback begin with a woman as leader”, in The Guardian, archived from the original on 31 Mar 2020

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   They developed their own lexicon, with Corbyn critics referred to as 'melts' or 'slugs' while their man was lauded as 'the absolute boy'.

   [2019 October 17, Asa Bennett, Romanifesto: Modern Lessons from Classical Politics, Biteback Publishing, →ISBN

9. alternativecountableuncountableAlternative spelling of milt (“the semen of a male fish, used as food”).

   A mass of herring melts, tinged with the streams of claret, had fallen into his hair, and this, added to his temporary stupor, had led to the Doctor's mistake.

   1825, Lochandhu: A Tale of the Eighteenth Century, page 28

1. abbreviationacronymuncountablecomputingAcronym of metrics, events, logs, and traces.

   Another way to describe APM suites is that they are the monitoring technology that makes MELT data collection possible and useful for SREs.

   2023, Jeremy Proffitt, Rod Anami, Becoming a Rockstar SRE: Electrify your site reliability engineering mindset to build reliable, resilient, and efficient systems, Packt Publishing Ltd, →ISBN, page 73