1. A container in which a substance is melted.
2. A place where immigrants of different cultures or races form an integrated society: "Canadians . . . liked to think of their country as a mosaic rather than a melting pot" (Kenneth McNaught).

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.