melt

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
melt/melt/

▶verb

• 1 make or become liquefied by heating.

  ■ (melt something down) melt a metal article so as to reuse the raw material.

  ■ dissolve in liquid.

• 2 (often melt away) disappear or disperse.

  ■ (melt into) change or merge imperceptibly into (another form or state).

• 3 become or make more tender or loving.

▶noun

• 1 an act or period of melting.

  ■ metal or other material in a melted condition.

  ■ a quantity of metal melted in one operation.

• 2 a sandwich, hamburger, or other dish containing or topped with melted cheese.

– derivatives
meltable adjective,
melter noun,
melting adjective,
meltingly adverb.

– origin OE meltan, mieltan, of Gmc origin; rel. to malt.