smelt
1to fuse or melt (ore) in order to separate the metal contained.
to obtain or refine (metal) in this way.
Origin of smelt
1Words Nearby smelt
Other definitions for smelt (2 of 3)
any of various small, silvery food fishes of the family Osmeridae, of cold northern waters, as the North American rainbow smelt, Osmerus mordax.
any of several superficially similar but unrelated fishes, especially certain silversides, of California.
Origin of smelt
2Other definitions for smelt (3 of 3)
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
In 1915, Alcoa bought the unfinished dam, the plant, and the town, and began smelting two years later.
A North Carolina town struggles under the toxic shadow of the company that built it | Emily Cataneo/Undark | December 17, 2021 | Popular-ScienceAn estimated half of these batteries end up in the informal recycling sector, where they are broken apart and smelted, causing lead particles to leak into the environment.
Lead poisoning affects 1 in 3 kids worldwide—but it’s not too late to act | jakemeth | October 23, 2020 | FortuneMy nostrils have smelt the horrors of the (cloth) diaper pail.
So far, proposals of “Senate flounder,” “House blowfish,” and “Hope and Change smelt” have met with little public acceptance.
Up to a Point: P.J. O’Rourke on Valentine’s Day and Oral Hygiene | P. J. O’Rourke | February 14, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThe Romans learned how to smelt copper into brass, then bronze, to make weapons, and suddenly war was an entirely different game.
Copper, the Metal That Runs the World: ‘Boom, Bust, Boom,’ by Bill Carter | Peter Madden | October 26, 2012 | THE DAILY BEAST
A moment later there was Something nearly at his left elbow, and he smelt again the nameless, fœtid reek.
Uncanny Tales | VariousBut also he saw strange, unaccustomed raiment, he saw a sheet of gold, he smelt the soft breath of ambra.
The Wave | Algernon BlackwoodI 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.
A Woman's Journey Round the World | Ida PfeifferI merely just touched a piece of fresh rind, and my hands smelt of it the next morning.
A Woman's Journey Round the World | Ida PfeifferHunters 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)
/ (smɛlt) /
(tr) to extract (a metal) from (an ore) by heating
Origin of smelt
1British Dictionary definitions for smelt (2 of 3)
/ (smɛlt) /
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
2British Dictionary definitions for smelt (3 of 3)
/ (smɛlt) /
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
[ smĕlt ]
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.
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