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Glite Dictionary
😭 To lose control 🔥 To liquefy
to melt down

to melt down

12 3.0
Make a solid become liquid by heating it
  • phrasal verb
  • /mɛlt daʊn/
translation icon : fundir (metales)
  • The ice cream started to melt down in the sun, creating a puddle on the table.

So they smelted down or melted down the gold somewhere near Bristol.

Examples

  • Designing a reactor that requires uninterrupted power to prevent it from melting down is a terrible idea.

    Blog text (20)

  • After Nero's death, those statues were melted down and his victories were stricken from the official Olympic record.

  • And you can just put them into your sink, pour like warm water over them, and they melt down to nothing.

  • Let the ice cream melt down into the stout and stir it up quite well.

    Blog text (25)

  • So they smelted down or melted down the gold somewhere near Bristol.

    Dodge Woodall

  • Our grandfather melted down steel with a blowtorch and made small metal sculptures.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • At first, crude blocks of gold are melted down at high temperatures and poured into molds.

    Blog text (12)

  • Giant statues symbolising authority, beauty, strength and wisdom were thrown into the smelters and melted down to be turned into cheap copper coins.

  • Nothing remains of the Incas' precious metalwork, melted down into ingots for the royal mints at Toledo and Seville.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • When heated, the chocolate will melt down into a smooth liquid, ready for dipping fruits.

Synonyms

to melt
vsto melt down
362 1.0

To change a solid into a liquid by heating it

is the two-word expression for the same heating change
to thaw
vsto melt down
65 1.1

To become soft and melt after being frozen or make something melt

covers melting by heating generally, not only after freezing
to fuse
vsto melt down
23 4.2

To melt and join things together using heat

describes the straight change to liquid without joining objects
to liquefy
vsto melt down
  • Specialized
18 4.4

To change a solid or gas into a liquid, often by heating

limits this to heating a solid rather than pressure or gas change
to unfreeze
vsto melt down
2 3.5

Make something that is frozen become soft or liquid

refers to the general heating change rather than only unfreezing
to liquify
vsto melt down
4.5

Make a solid melt so it can flow

focuses on the same heating change but as a phrasal form
to liquidize
vsto melt down
  • US
4.2

To make something into a liquid by heating or blending

emphasizes heating of a solid rather than mixing methods
to liquate
vsto melt down
  • Specialized
9.5

To become liquid because of heat

is the phrasal form naming the same heat caused change

Antonyms

to solidify
55 4.4

To change from a liquid or gas into a hard state as it cools

How Liquid

to liquefy
  • Specialized
18 4.4
to melt down
12 3.0
to melt
362 1.0
to soften
55 1.3

Surface Forms

melt down infinitive
melted down past
melted down past participle
melting down present participle
melts down third person singular

Morphology

melt + down

The literal meanings of 'melt' (to change state/soften) plus 'down' (toward a lower or deteriorated state) give a plausible sense of something failing or breaking apart, so a learner might guess a physical or functional collapse. However, the emotional sense 'lose control emotionally' and the technical sense 'catastrophic overheating' are metaphorical extensions and not fully predictable from the parts without prior exposure, so the expression is only partially transparent.

Etymology

Melt down comes from the image of heating a solid, like metal or butter, until it melts and runs down as a liquid. That's why it means 'to change something solid into a liquid'.