smelt Hear it!

smelt1 definition

smelt (smelt)

noun pl. smelts or smelt

any of various fishes (order Salmoniformes); esp., any of a family (Osmeridae) of small, silvery, salmonoid food fishes found in northern seas or lakes: most run up rivers to spawn

Etymology: ME < OE, akin to Norw smelt, whiting, Du smelt, Ger schmelte, sand eel

smelt2 definition

smelt (smelt)

transitive verb

  1. to melt or fuse (ore, etc.) so as to separate impurities from pure metal
  2. to refine or extract (metal) in this way

Etymology: MDu or MLowG smelten, akin to Ger schmelzen < IE *(s)mel-, to crush, grind fine > melt, malt

intransitive verb

to undergo fusing or smelting
smelt3 definition

smelt (smelt)

transitive verb, intransitive verb

Brit. smell

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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