melt
verb/melt/
/melt/
Verb Forms
Idioms Phrasal Verbs| present simple I / you / we / they melt | /melt/ /melt/ |
| he / she / it melts | /melts/ /melts/ |
| past simple melted | /ˈmeltɪd/ /ˈmeltɪd/ |
| past participle melted | /ˈmeltɪd/ /ˈmeltɪd/ |
| -ing form melting | /ˈmeltɪŋ/ /ˈmeltɪŋ/ |
- [intransitive, transitive] to become or make something become liquid as a result of heating
- The snow showed no sign of melting.
- melting ice
- melt something The sun had melted the snow.
- boiled potatoes with melted butter
- melted cheese/chocolate/ice cream
- First, melt two ounces of butter.
Collocations CookingCookingPreparingcompare defrost, de-ice, melting point- prepare a dish/a meal/a menu/dinner/the fish
- weigh out 100g/4oz of sugar/the ingredients
- wash/rinse the lettuce/spinach/watercress
- chop/slice/dice the carrots/onions/potatoes
- peel the carrots/onion/potatoes/garlic/orange
- grate a carrot/the cheese/some nutmeg
- remove/discard the bones/seeds/skin
- blend/combine/mix (together) the flour and water/all the ingredients/the spices
- beat/whisk the cream/eggs/egg whites
- knead/shape/roll (out) the dough
- heat the oil in a frying pan
- preheat/heat the oven/(British English) the grill/(North American English) the broiler
- bring to (British English) the boil/(North American English) a boil
- stir constantly/gently with a wooden spoon
- reduce the heat
- simmer gently for 20 minutes/until reduced by half
- melt the butter/ghee/chocolate/cheese/sugar
- brown the meat for 8–20 minutes
- drain the pasta/the water from the pot/in a colander
- mash the potatoes/banana/avocado
- cook food/fish/meat/rice/pasta/a Persian dish
- bake (a loaf of) bread/a cake/(especially North American English) cookies/(British English) biscuits/a pie/potatoes/fish/scones/muffins
- boil cabbage/potatoes/an egg/water
- fry/deep-fry/stir-fry the chicken/vegetables
- grill meat/steak/chicken/sausages/a hot dog
- roast potatoes/peppers/meat/chicken/lamb
- sauté garlic/mushrooms/onions/potatoes/vegetables
- steam rice/vegetables/spinach/asparagus/dumplings
- toast bread/nuts
- microwave food/popcorn/(British English) a ready meal
- serve in a glass/on a bed of rice/with potatoes
- arrange the slices on a plate/in a layer
- carve the meat/lamb/chicken/turkey
- dress/toss a salad
- dress with/drizzle with olive oil/vinaigrette
- top with a slice of lemon/a scoop of ice cream/whipped cream/syrup
- garnish with a sprig of parsley/fresh basil leaves/lemon wedges/a slice of lime/a twist of orange
- sprinkle with salt/sugar/herbs/parsley/freshly ground black pepper
Extra ExamplesTopics Weatherb2, Physics and chemistryb2- The melting ice caps could provoke widespread flooding.
- Add melted butter and season with salt and pepper.
- These crystals have very high melting temperatures.
- [intransitive, transitive] to become or to make a feeling, an emotion, etc. become gentler and less strong
- The tension in the room began to melt.
- melt something Her trusting smile melted his heart.
- (of a person) to become extremely hot
- Today the temperature got up to 36 degrees and it felt like I was melting.
Word OriginOld English meltan, mieltan, of Germanic origin; related to Old Norse melta ‘to malt, digest’, from an Indo-European root shared by Greek meldein ‘to melt’, Latin mollis ‘soft’, also by malt.
Idioms
See melt in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee melt in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic Englishbutter wouldn’t melt (in somebody’s mouth)
- (informal) used to say that somebody seems to be innocent, kind, etc. when they are not really
melt in your mouth
- (of food) to be soft and very good to eat
- They serve steaks that just melt in your mouth.
Check pronunciation:
melt