molted; molting; molts
: to shed hair, feathers, shell, horns, or an outer layer periodically
Birds molt once or twice a year.
: to cast off (an outer covering) periodically
specifically
: to throw off (the old cuticle (see cuticle sense 1))
—used of arthropods
a spider, like a lobster, molts its covering as it grows —
Eugene Kinkead
Eugene Kinkead
molter
noun
Examples of molt in a Sentence
Verb
Snakes molt as they grow, shedding the old skin and growing a larger new skin.
a crab molts its shell as it grows larger
Recent Examples on the Web
Sara Hashemi, Smithsonian Magazine, 8 May 2025
Key Takeaways After 17 years underground, an enormous brood of loud, molting cicadas is emerging this spring in parts of the southern and northeastern United States.
—Emily Kay Votruba, EverydayHealth.com, 30 Apr. 2025
Susan Hall Mahon, Southern Living, 13 Apr. 2025
Males, known for their bright red plumage, molt to a yellow-green before migrating to the tropical Andean foothills.
—Alisha Camacho, Baltimore Sun, 28 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for molt
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Verb
The nymphs molt out of their exoskeletons, turn into winged adults and start their loud, chirping mating call.
—Sara Hashemi, Smithsonian Magazine, 8 May 2025
Key Takeaways After 17 years underground, an enormous brood of loud, molting cicadas is emerging this spring in parts of the southern and northeastern United States.
—Emily Kay Votruba, EverydayHealth.com, 30 Apr. 2025
Noun
Soft-Shell Crab Refers to the brief time just after a blue crab molts, during which the entire shell is edible.
—Susan Hall Mahon, Southern Living, 13 Apr. 2025
Males, known for their bright red plumage, molt to a yellow-green before migrating to the tropical Andean foothills.
—Alisha Camacho, Baltimore Sun, 28 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for molt
Cite this Entry
“Molt.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/molt. Accessed 30 Jun. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
molt
1 of 2 verb
: to shed hair, feathers, outer skin, shell, or horns with the cast-off parts being replaced by a new growth
molt
2 of 2 noun
: the act, process, or period of molting
Medical Definition
molt
1 of 2 intransitive verb
variants
or chiefly British moult
: to shed hair, feathers, shell, horns, or an outer layer periodically
: to cast off (an outer covering) periodically
specifically
: to throw off (the old cuticle)
—used of arthropods
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