plural smelts or smelt
: any of a family (Osmeridae) of small bony fishes that closely resemble the trouts in general structure, live along coasts and ascend rivers to spawn or are landlocked, and have delicate oily flesh with a distinctive odor and taste
smelted; smelting; smelts
1
: to melt or fuse (a substance, such as ore) often with an accompanying chemical change usually to separate the metal
smelt
3 of 3chiefly British past participle of smell entry 1
Examples of smelt in a Sentence
Verb
the process used for smelting iron ore
Recent Examples on the Web
Paul Du Quenoy, Newsweek, 9 Jan. 2025
Trump’s reference to the Delta smelt centers on a decades-old water battle in California between cities, farmers and the environment.
—Paul Rogers, The Mercury News, 24 Jan. 2025
David Bressan, Forbes, 25 Feb. 2025
Keeping the mine running as long as possible was critical for Metinvest, which relied on coking coal to smelt iron ore into steel at its factories further west.
—Daria Mitiuk Finbarr O’Reilly, New York Times, 15 Jan. 2025
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Noun
Efforts to protect the delta smelt involve limiting water diversion from the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta using changes to dam releases to ensure sufficient flows for its survival.
—Paul Du Quenoy, Newsweek, 9 Jan. 2025
Trump’s reference to the Delta smelt centers on a decades-old water battle in California between cities, farmers and the environment.
—Paul Rogers, The Mercury News, 24 Jan. 2025
Verb
Long before humans were able to smelt iron from natural ores, meteoric iron was used by people as a welcome alternative.
—David Bressan, Forbes, 25 Feb. 2025
Keeping the mine running as long as possible was critical for Metinvest, which relied on coking coal to smelt iron ore into steel at its factories further west.
—Daria Mitiuk Finbarr O’Reilly, New York Times, 15 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for smelt
Cite this Entry
“Smelt.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/smelt. Accessed 3 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
smelt
1 of 2 noun
plural smelts or smelt
: any of several very small food fishes that look like the related trouts and live in fresh water or in coastal sea waters
smelt
2 of 2 verb1
: to melt (as ore) usually in order to separate the metal
2
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