molt

Meanings

1. 1verbintransitive

   To lose old feathers, hair, skin, or a shell and grow new ones at certain times.

   Grammar: No object; often used with animals and birds: the snake molts.

   Patterns

   • molt in (the) summer
   • molt every year
   • molt its skin

   Birds molt in late summer, so they may look a little scruffy for a few weeks.

   Snakes molt several times a year as they grow.

   The dog is molting all over the sofa, so I have to brush him every day.

2. 2nouncountable or uncountable

   The process or period of losing old feathers, hair, skin, or shell.

   Grammar: Can be used as a countable noun (a molt) or uncountable (during molt).

   Patterns

   • during the molt
   • a molt
   • after the molt

   The penguins look thin during their annual molt.

   After the molt, the crab's new shell is soft for a few days.

   You can tell the bird is in molt because it has bare patches.

Word forms

Common combinations

molt its skin

A snake molts its skin in one piece.

molt feathers

The ducks molt their feathers after the breeding season.

in molt

The bird is in molt and cannot fly well.

molting season

During molting season, the floor is covered with fur.

Synonyms and how they differ

shed

Shed is a more general verb for losing something (shed hair, shed tears); molt is specific to animals losing feathers, skin, or shell as part of a natural cycle.

cast

Cast is used in technical contexts for snakes and some invertebrates losing their skin, but it is less common in everyday speech than molt.

Word family

molting noun

The process of losing old feathers, hair, or skin.

molted adjective

Having recently lost old feathers, hair, or skin.

Commonly confused: molt or moult?

Practice

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