Melty describes something that's in the process of melting or has a soft, gooey quality like melted food. When cheese on a pizza gets hot and starts to soften and spread, it becomes melty. A chocolate bar left in the sun turns melty as it loses its solid shape.

The word captures that perfect texture between solid and liquid. Think of a grilled cheese sandwich when you pull it apart and the cheese stretches in golden strings, or a scoop of ice cream on a warm day that's starting to slump and drip. That's melty.

While melty isn't traditionally found in formal dictionaries, people use it naturally because it describes a specific quality that words like “melted” or “melting” don't quite capture. “Melted” suggests something that's already become liquid, while “melty” describes that appealing in-between state. A s'more is delicious precisely because the marshmallow and chocolate are melty, not because they've melted into complete mush. The word has become popular in cooking and food writing because it so perfectly describes that warm, soft, slightly gooey texture that makes foods like brownies, fondue, or hot fudge so satisfying.