smelt
noun
\ ˈsmelt
\
\
plural smelts
or smelt
Definition of smelt
(Entry 1 of 3)
: 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
smelt
verb
smelted;
smelting;
smelts
Definition of smelt (Entry 2 of 3)
1
: to melt or fuse (a substance, such as ore) often with an accompanying chemical change usually to separate the metal
smelt
Definition of smelt (Entry 3 of 3)
chiefly British past participle of smell entry 1
Examples of smelt in a Sentence
Verb
the process used for smelting iron oreRecent Examples on the Web: Noun
Sergio’s Seafood 75th Avenue Market will offer such seafood as clams, oysters, shrimp, octopus and smelts. — Pam Defiglio, chicagotribune.com, "Taste of Elmwood Park To Take Place Aug. 8-11," 30 July 2019 During the Obama administration, federal fishery agencies adopted tougher export limits after finding that delta pumping was pushing delta smelt, Chinook salmon and other native fish to the edge of extinction. — Bettina Boxall, Los Angeles Times, "Salmon study may foil Trump’s plan to boost water deliveries to Central Valley farms," 18 July 2019 Deprived of its natural flow, the great delta northeast of San Francisco, which drains 40% of California’s landmass, veers toward collapse, threatening the survival of native fish such as salmon and smelt. — Gerard Helferich, WSJ, "‘The Dreamt Land’ Review: California’s Precious Resource," 14 June 2019 Pumping often gets interrupted to protect Delta smelt and other fish, whose numbers have been decimated by the effects of the pumping. — Dale Kasler, sacbee, "Even cut in half, plan for Delta tunnels doesn’t win over opponents | The Sacramento Bee," 8 Feb. 2018 Decades of pumping have helped pushed smelt, Chinook salmon and other fish to the brink of extinction. — Dale Kasler And Ryan Sabalow, sacbee, "Southern California water agency backs 2 Delta tunnels in breakthrough vote," 11 Apr. 2018 The National Marine Fisheries Service works with the state to protect the delta smelt and Chinook salmon, two fish species under threat because of California's drought, according to ABC News. — Jonathan Hunt, Fox News, "Commerce chief scolds California over environmental policies he says hinder firefighters: ‘Lives are at stake’," 9 Aug. 2018 Yet tens of billions of gallons of water each year are wasted because of restrictions on pumping in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta that are intended to protect fish including smelt and chinook salmon. — The Editorial Board, WSJ, "Trump’s California Water Relief," 19 Oct. 2018 These restrictions are intended to prevent smelt from getting ensnared in the pumps and to maintain a pH balance suitable for fish. — The Editorial Board, WSJ, "Trump’s California Water Relief," 19 Oct. 2018Recent Examples on the Web: Verb
Death metal and industrial get smelted in the band’s blast-furnace style. — John Adamian, courant.com, "Harm’s Way - death metal, industrial and scrambled beats - playing Webster Underground," 11 Aug. 2019 In 2005 Aditya Mittal, now president of ArcelorMittal, the world’s biggest steelmaker, mused that companies would need to smelt at least 100m tonnes a year to survive. — The Economist, "The European steel industry is being clobbered," 28 June 2019 Over four years, the fire smelted an ever-purer, ever-bolder warriorhood. — Adam Thirlwell, The New York Review of Books, "Lunches in the Maelstrom," 17 June 2019 Then there’s the hidden logistics around how the simple components inside it are harvested and smelted and assembled, through multiple layers of contractors, distributors, and downstream component manufacturers. — James Vincent, The Verge, "This beautiful map shows everything that powers an Amazon Echo, from data mines to lakes of lithium," 9 Sep. 2018 Alumina, produced from bauxite, is smelted to make aluminum. — Rhiannon Hoyle, WSJ, "Labor Unrest Strikes Mining Giants," 9 Aug. 2018 Iron that comes from meteorites has a higher nickel content than iron dug up from the ground and smelted by humans. — Jonathan Schifman, Popular Mechanics, "The Entire History of Steel," 9 July 2018 But smelting iron in the colonies destroyed business for the ironworks in England. — Jonathan Schifman, Popular Mechanics, "The Entire History of Steel," 9 July 2018 Others had tried smelting iron with coal, but Darby was the first to roast the coal before smelting. — Jonathan Schifman, Popular Mechanics, "The Entire History of Steel," 9 July 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'smelt.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for smelt
smelt
noun
English Language Learners Definition of smelt
(Entry 1 of 2)
: a type of small fish that can be eaten
smelt
verbEnglish Language Learners Definition of smelt (Entry 2 of 2)
: to melt rock that contains metal in order to get the metal out
See the full definition for smelt in the English Language Learners Dictionary
smelt
noun
\ ˈsmelt
\
\
plural smelts
or smelt
Kids Definition of smelt
(Entry 1 of 2)
: a small silvery fish that is sometimes used for food
smelt
verb
smelted;
smelting
Kids Definition of smelt (Entry 2 of 2)
: to melt (as ore) in order to separate the metal : refine
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