# smelt

/ˈsmɛɫt/ (US) · /smˈɛlt/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/smelt
Updated: 2026-08-27

## Senses

### 2. to extract metal

verb · CEFR C1 · Technical

to melt rock (ore) at a very high heat to get the metal out of it.

For teachers: to extract a metal from its ore by a process involving heating and melting.

- The company uses a large factory to smelt iron from the rocks they mine.
- Ancient civilisations discovered how to smelt copper long before they developed the technology required for iron production.

Usage: This is a transitive verb that usually takes a specific metal or 'ore' as its object.

### 3. a type of fish

noun · CEFR C2 · Technical

a small silver fish that lives in both salt and fresh water.

For teachers: any small anadromous fish of the family Osmeridae.

- The fisherman caught a bucket of smelt in the river this morning.
- The local ecosystem relies heavily on the annual migration of smelt, which provide a vital food source for larger predators.

## Examples

- The factory melted the smelt to create new copper wire.
- The artisan carefully selected a piece of smelt from the pile to begin the casting process.
- The ancient site yielded a significant quantity of smelt, suggesting that the community possessed the rudimentary technology to extract and refine metals from local ores.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.