molt

[ mohlt ]

verb (used without object)

1. (of birds, insects, reptiles, etc.) to cast or shed the feathers, skin, or the like, that will be replaced by a new growth.

verb (used with object)

1. to cast or shed (feathers, skin, etc.) in the process of renewal.

noun

1. an act, process, or an instance of molting.
2. something that is dropped in molting.

molt

/ məʊlt /

verb

1. the usual US spelling of moult

molt

/ mōlt /

1. To shed an outer covering, such as skin or feathers, for replacement by a new growth. Many snakes, birds, and arthropods molt.

Other Words From

• molter noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of molt¹

1300–50; earlier mout (with intrusive -l-; fault, assault ), Middle English mouten, Old English -mūtian to change (in bi-mūtian to exchange for) < Latin mūtāre to change; mutate

Example Sentences

Mr Molt says he harvests his own leeks, onions, potatoes and tomatoes through the greenhouse society, which are given away to fellow students.

From BBC

Archie Molt, a third-year student at Canterbury Christ Church University, has formed a greenhouse society on campus to provide fellow finance-conscious students with food.

From BBC

After years underground, periodical cicadas — insects of the genus Magicicada — are emerging by the trillions across more than a dozen states to molt, sing, court and mate.

From New York Times

Mr. Rave says that after the eggs hatch, many of the mothers go off to molt.

From NewsForKids.net

A few days after they emerge and molt, the males will start buzzing in an effort to find a mate, a slow-building crescendo of noise that in a chorus can be louder than a plane.

From New York Times