Definition of "malt"

malt

/mɑlt/

noun
countable and uncountable, plural malts
1. Malted grain (sprouted grain) (usually barley), used in brewing and otherwise.
2. Malt liquor, especially malt whisky.
  Quotations
  Oh many a peer of England brewsLivelier liquor than the Muse,And malt does more than Milton canTo justify God's ways to man.
  1896, A. E. Housman, A Shropshire Lad, section LXII
3. (US, informal) A milkshake with malted milk powder added for flavor.
  Quotations
  Afterward she sat in the drugstore sucking malt through a straw.
  1992, Toni Morrison, Jazz, Vintage (2016), page 89
4. Maltose-rich sugar derived from malted grain.
verb
third-person singular simple present malts, present participle malting, simple past and past participle malted
1. (transitive) To convert a cereal grain into malt by causing it to sprout (by soaking in water) and then halting germination (by drying with hot air) in order to develop enzymes that can break down starches and proteins in the grain.
2. (intransitive) To become malt.
3. (intransitive, dated, humorous) To drink malt liquor.