molt

(mōlt)

v. molt·ed, molt·ing, molts

v.intr.

To shed part or all of a coat or an outer covering, such as feathers, cuticle, or skin, which is then replaced by a new growth.

v.tr.

To shed or cast off (a bodily covering).

1. The act or process of molting.

2. The material cast off during molting.

[Alteration of Middle English mouten, from Old English -mūtian (in bemūtian, to exchange for), from Latin mūtāre, to change; see mei- in Indo-European roots.]

molt′er n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun

molting - periodic shedding of the cuticle in arthropods or the outer skin in reptiles

ecdysis, molt, moult, moulting

shedding, sloughing - the process whereby something is shed

Mentioned in

References in classic literature

[I have seen that remark before somewhere.] The pier was crowded with carriages and men; passengers were arriving and hurrying on board; the vessel's decks were encumbered with trunks and valises; groups of excursionists, arrayed in unattractive traveling costumes, were moping about in a drizzling rain and looking as droopy and woebegone as so many molting chickens.

View in context

Molting abnormalities of Chinese Mitten Crab (Eriocheir sinensis) can seriously affect their growth, causing significant losses to the aquaculture industry.

Reconstruction and Subcellular Localization Analysis of Eriocheir sinensis Molting Protein-Protein Interaction Network

Also, a chitinase is known to exist in this species, probably for the purpose of molting, but activity in the gut or a role in digestion remains to be shown.

Growth and enzyme production in blue crabs (Callinectes sapidus) fed cellulose and chitin supplemented diets

Feeding programs to induce molting in Japanese Quails (Coturnix japonica).

PRODUCTIVE AND REPRODUCTIVE PERFORMANCE OF JAPANESE QUAILS AS INFLUENCED BY INDUCED MOULTING

N-acetylglucosamino-1,5-lactone (NAGL) is a molting biomarker in the blue crab Callinectes sapidus.

The molting biomarker metabolite N-acetylglucosamino-l,5-lactone in female urine of the helmet crab Telmessus cheiragonus

An adult Ancient Murrelet beached in September 1976 (Alaska Peninsula) and a probable second-year murrelet beached in July 1987 (Oregon) were synchronously molting remiges.

Ancient murrelets molt flight feathers after the precocial young become independent

Abstract: Handling, including blood collection, has often been discouraged in molting penguins because it is considered an additional stress imposed on birds already experiencing major physiologic stress associated with molting.

Molt-associated changes in hematologic and plasma biochemical values and stress hormone levels in African penguins (Spheniscus demersus)

The work is the first to show that molting can safeguard against parasites, says evolutionary biologist David Duneau of Cornell University.

Molting as parasite defense

Our objectives were thus to identify the molting and wintering areas of birds breeding in Ungava Bay and to compare their home-range sizes during the pre-molt, molt, post-molt, and winter periods.

Molting, staging, and wintering locations of common eiders breeding in the gyrfalcon archipelago, Ungava Bay

This annual molt is energetically demanding (Murphy and King, 1991) and critical to survival of birds; yet strategies of molting in birds are poorly documented in comparison to strategies of breeding, wintering, and migration.

Habitats and conservation of molt-migrant birds in southeastern Arizona

Scorpion molting is well understood (Polis 1990; Brownell & Polis 2001; Gaban & Farley 2002).

Scorpion taphonomy: criteria for distinguishing fossil scorpion molts and carcasses