melting

Noun · Adjective

WordNet 3.0

Noun (1)

the process whereby heat changes something from a solid to a liquid“the power failure caused a refrigerator melt that was a disaster”“the thawing of a frozen turkey takes several hours”Synonyms: thaw melt thawing

Adjective (1)

becoming liquidSynonyms: liquescent

Webster's Dictionary (GCIDE)

Melting \Melt"ing\ a. Causing to melt; becoming melted; -- used literally or figuratively; as, a melting heat; a melting appeal; a melting mood. -- Melt"ing*ly, adv. [1913 Webster]

Melt \Melt\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Melted (obs.) p. p. Molten; p. pr. & vb. n. Melting.] [AS. meltan; akin to Gr. me`ldein, E. malt, and prob. to E. smelt, v. [root]108. Cf. Smelt, v., Malt, Milt the spleen.]

1.To reduce from a solid to a liquid state, as by heat; to liquefy; as, to melt wax, tallow, or lead; to melt ice or snow. [1913 Webster]

2.Hence: To 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. [1913 Webster]

Thou would'st have . . . melted down thy youth.— Shak.[1913 Webster]

For pity melts the mind to love.— Dryden.[1913 Webster]

Syn: To liquefy; fuse; thaw; mollify; soften. [1913 Webster]

Melting \Melt"ing\, n. Liquefaction; the act of causing (something) to melt, or the process of becoming melted. [1913 Webster]

Melting point (Chem.), the degree of temperature at which a solid substance melts or fuses; as, the melting point of ice is 0[deg] Centigrade or 32[deg] Fahr., that of urea is 132[deg] Centigrade. Pressure affects the melting point somewhat, and if not specified the melting point is usually taken to be at atmospheric pressure. [1913 Webster]