To scald means to burn with very hot liquid or steam. If you accidentally splash boiling water on your hand while making hot chocolate, you've scalded yourself. The burn from scalding is different from touching a hot pan: it comes specifically from contact with hot water, oil, steam, or other hot liquids.

In cooking, scalding also means heating milk or other liquids to just below boiling, around 180 degrees Fahrenheit. Recipes sometimes call for scalded milk because the heat kills bacteria and changes the milk's proteins in ways that help bread rise better. You'll know milk is scalded when tiny bubbles form around the edges of the pan and steam rises from the surface, but the milk isn't actually boiling yet.

You might also see the word used figuratively. A scalding remark is one that's so harsh it feels like it burns, and scalding hot weather means it's intensely, painfully hot outside. The word captures that specific feeling of heat that doesn't just warm you but actually hurts.