malt

1 of 2

noun

1
: grain (such as barley) softened by steeping in water, allowed to germinate, and used especially in brewing and distilling
2
3
malty adjective

malt

2 of 2

verb

malted; malting; malts

transitive verb

1
: to convert into malt
2
: to make or treat with malt or malt extract

intransitive verb

1
: to become malt
2
: to make grain into malt

Examples of malt in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
There's also been a lot of movement across the industry to make malt whisky distilling more energy-efficient and green. Joseph V Micallef, Forbes, 2 Mar. 2024 The basket contains two Royal Riviera pears, Moose Crunch milk chocolate popcorn and caramel popcorn, mini malt ball eggs, a milk chocolate bunny, milk chocolate malt balls, and chocolate truffles with various flavors such as raspberry, dark cherry, white coffee, and more. Amanda Ogle, Southern Living, 16 Feb. 2024 This dish has crispy lobster tail meat, shrimp, hush puppies and French fries served with coleslaw, honey-jalapeño butter and malt vinegar aioli. Sabrina Weiss, Peoplemag, 15 Feb. 2024 The pale ale reviewed here, for instance, has a lower ABV than its predecessor, resulting in a brew that gives more prominence to roasted malts and fresh hops than alcohol. Peter Rowe, San Diego Union-Tribune, 19 Jan. 2024 Go Brewing creates its mash — the mixing of water and malt to convert starches to sugars that can be fermented into alcohol — at higher temperatures so the sugars are less fermentable. Jordyn Noennig, Journal Sentinel, 18 Jan. 2024 Oberon Ale is brewed with wheat malt, hops and spices and fermented with Bell's signature house yeast and comes in at 5.8% alcohol by volume. Brian Manzullo, Detroit Free Press, 12 Jan. 2024 Woodford Reserve’s core lineup of whiskeys consists of bourbon, rye, wheat, and malt expressions. Jonah Flicker, Robb Report, 23 Jan. 2024 The peppermint chocolate cream cold foam emulates the flavors of a peppermint mocha latte and blends chocolate malt powder and peppermint syrup to Starbucks signature vanilla sweet cream (which is available year-round). Sabrina Weiss, Peoplemag, 6 Dec. 2023
Verb
The oldest distillery on Islay, dating back to 1779, Bowmore uses peat to malt its barley. Tony Sachs, Forbes, 26 Feb. 2024 During the 2016 campaign, Trump was mocked for his weight and McDonald’s habit; his standard order, at least back then, was reportedly two Big Macs, two Filet-O-Fishes, and a chocolate malted. Clare Malone, The New Yorker, 25 Jan. 2024 Malt is a grain, typically barley in baking, that’s been soaked in water and then dried with hot air (a process called malting) so that an enzyme develops which changes the grain's starch into sugar. Sam Stone, Bon Appétit, 3 Nov. 2023 Beer is typically made with water, malting barley and yeast for flavor, as well as hops, which contain compounds called alpha acids that give beer its unique bitter aroma and affect its quality. Julia Jacobo, ABC News, 10 Oct. 2023 According to the Hop Growers of America, Washington state produces more than twice the amount of hops than does the rest of the country; and the USDA says that most domestic barley production — three-fourths of which is used for malting — is in Idaho, Montana and North Dakota. Tony Rehagen, Washington Post, 10 Aug. 2023 Springbank is also one of the few distilleries that still does its own floor maltings, meaning the barley is malted and dried on-site instead of being outsourced to one of the large malting houses that supply most distilleries in Scotland. Jonah Flicker, Robb Report, 18 Aug. 2023 Between water lost in the boil, water used to cool the wort, and water used for cleaning equipment, a brewery could need eight gallons of water to brew one gallon of beer — and that doesn’t include the water-intensive steeping process of malting the grain. Tony Rehagen, Washington Post, 10 Aug. 2023 The whisky is made from 100 percent barley, but in a style more similar to Irish pot still whisky—two-thirds of the barley is unmalted, while one-third is malted with koji. Jonah Flicker, Robb Report, 26 June 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'malt.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English, from Old English mealt; akin to Old High German malz malt, Old English meltan to melt

First Known Use

Noun

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

15th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of malt was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near malt

Cite this Entry

“Malt.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/malt. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

malt

1 of 2 noun
1
: grain and especially barley steeped in water and used chiefly in brewing and distilling
2
malt adjective

malt

2 of 2 verb
1
: to convert into malt
2
: to make or treat with malt or malt extract

Medical Definition

malt

1 of 2 noun
: grain softened by steeping in water, allowed to germinate, and used especially in brewing and distilling

MALT

2 of 2 abbreviation
mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue

More from Merriam-Webster on malt

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