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
Ian James, Los Angeles Times, 23 Dec. 2024
The never-ending platters of squid salad, a haul of shrimp cocktail that would have fed the entire Italian Brigands, and towers of fried smelts, scattered over yesterday's newspaper.
—Claudia Alarcón, Forbes, 22 Dec. 2024
Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 7 Jan. 2025
Along with pottery, the team has excavated kilns, as well as clues that workers in the city smelted iron ores, Frachetti says.
—Allison Parshall, Scientific American, 23 Oct. 2024
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Noun
Withdrawals of water by the massive pumps that feed the systems have contributed to the ecological degradation of the Delta and San Francisco Bay, where threatened and endangered fish species include steelhead trout, two types of Chinook salmon, longfin smelt, Delta smelt and green sturgeon.
—Ian James, Los Angeles Times, 23 Dec. 2024
The never-ending platters of squid salad, a haul of shrimp cocktail that would have fed the entire Italian Brigands, and towers of fried smelts, scattered over yesterday's newspaper.
—Claudia Alarcón, Forbes, 22 Dec. 2024
Verb
During the roughly 200-year stretch of the Pax Romana, the Romans were extracting and smelting a lot of silver to make coins.
—Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 7 Jan. 2025
Along with pottery, the team has excavated kilns, as well as clues that workers in the city smelted iron ores, Frachetti says.
—Allison Parshall, Scientific American, 23 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for smelt
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Cite this Entry
“Smelt.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/smelt. Accessed 18 Jan. 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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