smelt

1
[ smelt ]
See synonyms for: smeltsmeltedsmeltingsmelts on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object)
  1. to fuse or melt (ore) in order to separate the metal contained.

  2. to obtain or refine (metal) in this way.

Origin of smelt

1
First recorded in 1535–45; probably from Middle Dutch or Middle Low German smelten; cognate with German schmelzen “to melt, smelt, fuse”; see origin at melt1,

Words Nearby smelt

Other definitions for smelt (2 of 3)

smelt2
[ smelt ]

noun,plural (especially collectively) smelt, (especially referring to two or more kinds or species) smelts.
  1. any of various small, silvery food fishes of the family Osmeridae, of cold northern waters, as the North American rainbow smelt, Osmerus mordax.

  2. any of several superficially similar but unrelated fishes, especially certain silversides, of California.

Origin of smelt

2
First recorded before 900; Middle English smelt(e), smelth, Old English smelt, smylt; compare Norwegian smelta “whiting”

Other definitions for smelt (3 of 3)

smelt3
[ smelt ]

verb
  1. a simple past tense and past participle of smell.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use smelt in a sentence

  • A moment later there was Something nearly at his left elbow, and he smelt again the nameless, fœtid reek.

    Uncanny Tales | Various
  • But also he saw strange, unaccustomed raiment, he saw a sheet of gold, he smelt the soft breath of ambra.

    The Wave | Algernon Blackwood
  • I offered one of them a small bronze ring; he took it, smelt it, shook his head, and gave me to understand that it was not gold.

  • I merely just touched a piece of fresh rind, and my hands smelt of it the next morning.

  • Hunters are abundantly aware of this, and have to be quite as careful to avoid being smelt by their game as to avoid being seen.

    Man And His Ancestor | Charles Morris

British Dictionary definitions for smelt (1 of 3)

smelt1

/ (smɛlt) /


verb
  1. (tr) to extract (a metal) from (an ore) by heating

Origin of smelt

1
C15: from Middle Low German, Middle Dutch smelten; related to Old High German smelzan to melt

British Dictionary definitions for smelt (2 of 3)

smelt2

/ (smɛlt) /


nounplural smelt or smelts
  1. any marine or freshwater salmonoid food fish of the family Osmeridae, such as Osmerus eperlanus of Europe, having a long silvery body and occurring in temperate and cold northern waters

Origin of smelt

2
Old English smylt; related to Dutch, Danish smelt, Norwegian smelta, German Schmelz

British Dictionary definitions for smelt (3 of 3)

smelt3

/ (smɛlt) /


verb
  1. a past tense and past participle of smell

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for smelt

smelt

[ smĕlt ]


  1. To melt ores in order to extract the metals they contain. Oxide ores, such as iron ore, are smelted with carbon, which serves as a fuel and changes the ore into a reduced metal.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.