melt

IPA/melt/
KK[mˈɛlt]IPA/melt/

melt — verb

  • meltpresent simple I / you / we / they
  • meltshe / she / it
  • meltedpast simple
  • melting-ing form

1. When a solid substance turns into liquid because of heat, or when you heat a sol

1.verbtransitive / intransitiveA2
Definition

When a solid substance turns into liquid because of heat, or when you heat a solid substance until it becomes liquid — like ice turning into water on a warm day, or butter softening in a hot frying pan.

Example

Ritu melted some butter in a small pan before adding the vegetables.

transitive: melt + solid food ingredient

The snow along the driveway melted quickly under the bright morning sun.

intransitive: snow/ice melting in weather context

Common collocations
  • melt butter
  • melt ice
  • melt snow
  • melt chocolate
  • melt metal
  • melt down
Synonyms
  • liquefy

    more technical; used in scientific contexts

  • thaw

    specifically for frozen food or ice returning to normal temperature

  • soften

    less complete change — the substance does not fully become liquid

Antonyms
  • freeze

    turn from liquid to solid by cooling

  • solidify

    become solid, not necessarily by cooling

Grammar Patterns

melt + noun (object)

melt (intransitive — no object)

Usage Note

This sense can be transitive (you melt something) or intransitive (something melts by itself). The phrasal verb melt down is common when metal or plastic is recycled.

Common Mistakes

The ice dissolved in the sun.
The ice melted in the sun.
'dissolve' means mixing with a liquid; 'melt' means turning from solid to liquid by heat.
I melted the cheese on the pizza in the microwave.' (grammatically fine but wordy)
I melted the cheese on the pizza.
no need to add 'in the microwave' unless it changes the meaning.

2. To start feeling love, sympathy, or kindness toward someone, or to cause someone

2.verbtransitive / intransitiveB1
Definition

To start feeling love, sympathy, or kindness toward someone, or to cause someone's hard feelings to disappear — for example, when a parent's strict expression softens after a child explains an honest mistake, or when someone's cold attitude becomes warm after a kind gesture.

Example

Maeve's heart melted when she saw the tiny kitten shivering in the rain.

heart melts — fixed expression for sudden sympathy

The little boy's honest apology melted his mother's anger in an instant.

transitive: melt + someone's anger

Common collocations
  • heart melts
  • anger melts away
  • expression melted into
  • resistance melted
Synonyms
  • soften

    more general; can describe both emotions and physical objects

  • warm up to

    gradual process of becoming friendlier toward someone

  • relent

    stop being strict or refusing, often after persuasion

Antonyms
  • harden

    become emotionally cold or unfeeling

  • stiffen

    become more formal or unfriendly in attitude

Grammar Patterns

sb's heart melts

melt + sb's anger/resistance

melt into + emotion

Usage Note

Frequently used with heart as the subject (sb's heart melts). The phrasal form melt away is common for negative emotions like anger or frustration. Distinguish from sense 1: this sense describes emotional change, not physical state change.

Common Mistakes

I melted when I saw the puppy.' (too vague; unclear whether physical or emotional)
My heart melted when I saw the puppy.
using 'heart melts' makes the emotional meaning clear.

3. To slowly disappear, mix into the surroundings, or become less noticeable until

3.verbintransitiveB2
Definition

To slowly disappear, mix into the surroundings, or become less noticeable until something can no longer be clearly seen or heard — for example, morning fog melting as the sun rises, or a bird's call melting into the sound of a busy street.

Example

The thick morning fog melted as the sun climbed higher in the sky.

intransitive: fog/weather melts

The sound of her violin slowly melted into the noise of the passing traffic.

melt into — one sound blending with another

Common collocations
  • melt into the darkness
  • melt away
  • melt together
  • melt into the background
Synonyms
  • dissolve

    suggests complete disappearance; also describes solids mixing into liquids

  • fade

    lose brightness, loudness, or clarity gradually

  • blend

    mix smoothly with something else, staying visible but less distinct

Antonyms
  • emerge

    come out of something and become visible

  • crystallize

    become clear and distinct in form or idea

Grammar Patterns

melt into + surroundings/noise

melt away

melt together

Usage Note

Always intransitive — you cannot melt something in this sense. Commonly paired with into (blending) or away (disappearing). Distinguish from sense 2 by the subject: sense 3 subjects are physical phenomena (fog, colours, sounds, crowds), not emotions or people's hearts.

Common Mistakes

The crowd melted into the street.' (possible but confusing)
The crowd melted into the surrounding neighbourhood.
'into' needs a clear destination, not just a location.
Phrasal verbs

melt away

phrasal verb

To gradually disappear or become less intense.

Her worries melted away when she heard the good news.

The snow on the roof melted away under the warm sun.

melt down

phrasal verb

To heat a metal or other material until it becomes liquid.

The factory melted down the old gold coins to make new jewelry.

Can you melt down the butter for the recipe?

melt into

phrasal verb

To gradually become part of something or disappear into it.

The colors of the sunset melted into the dark blue sky.

The spy melted into the crowd and was gone.

Idioms

butter wouldn’t melt (in somebody’s mouth)

idiom

This phrase describes someone who looks innocent or kind but is actually not.

Maya looked like butter wouldn't melt in her mouth, but she took the last cookie.

Did you see Brian's innocent face? Butter wouldn't melt in his mouth, yet he lied.

melt in your mouth

idiom

This phrase describes food that is very soft and delicious.

The chocolate cake was so soft it seemed to melt in my mouth.

Have you tried the cookies that melt in your mouth? They are amazing.

melt — noun

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: verb/1

Melt, liquefy, thaw, and dissolve all describe a substance changing form, but they apply to different situations. Melt is the everyday word for solids turning to liquid by heat — you melt butter, ice, or chocolate. Liquefy is more formal and scientific, used for gases or solids that become liquid under specific conditions, such as liquefied natural gas. Thaw is specific to frozen items (ice, frozen food) returning to a normal temperature without necessarily becoming fully liquid — frozen meat thaws in the fridge. Dissolve is different: it happens when a solid mixes into a liquid, like sugar dissolving in tea, without heat being required. For everyday cooking and weather, melt is the natural choice. For example: 'The ice cream melted on the sidewalk' versus 'The frozen fish thawed overnight in the sink.'

melt ↗liquefy ↗thaw ↗dissolve ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

Prepositions

Etymology

Proto-Indo-EuropeanProto-GermanicOld EnglishMiddle EnglishEnglish

Melt comes from Old English meltan (to become liquid) and its related form mieltan (to make liquid), both from the Proto-Germanic root *melt- meaning 'to dissolve or soften.' These trace further back to the Proto-Indo-European root *mel- meaning 'to grind, crush, or soften,' which also gave us words like 'mild,' 'malt' (softened grain), and 'mollify' (to soften anger). The emotional sense (to soften in attitude) appeared in English around the 1300s, just a few centuries after the physical sense was first recorded.