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Consult Chambers 21st Century Dictionary, The Chambers Thesaurus (1996) or Chambers Biographical Dictionary (1997 edition with amendments). Enter your search and choose your title from the drop-down menu.
melt verb (melted, melting) tr & intr 1 (sometimes melt down or melt something down) to make or become soft or liquid, especially through the action of heat; to dissolve (something solid). 2 (often melt into something) to combine or fuse, or make something combine or fuse with something else, causing a loss of distinctness. 3 (also melt away or melt something away) to disappear or make something disappear or disperse • support for the scheme melted away. 4 colloq to make or become emotionally or romantically tender or submissive • Her smile melted my heart. noun 5 the act of melting. 6 the quantity or material melted. melting noun, adj. meltingly adverb. melt in the mouth said of food: to be especially delicious, eg in lightness of texture.
ETYMOLOGY: Anglo-Saxon meltan (as the intransitive verb) and mæltan (the transitive).
melt down 1 technical said of the core of a nuclear reactor: to overheat, causing radioactivity to escape. 2 to turn (metal, or metal articles) to a liquid state so that the raw material can be reused. |
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The Chambers Dictionary (13th edition)
“Chambers is the one I keep at my right hand”- Philip Pullman.
The unrivalled dictionary for word lovers, now in its 13th edition.
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The Chambers Thesaurus
The Chambers Thesaurus (4th Edition) is a veritable treasure-trove, including the greatest selection of alternative words and phrases available in an A to Z format. -
Chambers Biographical Dictionary
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Thoroughly revised and updated for its 9th edition.
Consult Chambers 21st Century Dictionary, The Chambers Thesaurus (1996) or Chambers Biographical Dictionary (1997 edition with amendments). Enter your search and choose your title from the drop-down menu.
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