A device for melting adhesive having a melting grill that has a multiplicity of passage openings, and heating elements, wherein the melting grill is heatable by the heating elements and melted adhesive heated by the hot melting grill is dischargeable through the passage openings, the melting grill on that side thereof that faces the adhesive to be melted having ribs. The melting grill has rotatable rods that are disposed beside one another and ribs that are disposed on the rods, the rods and the ribs being heatable by the heating elements, wherein ribs of adjacent rods are aligned so as to be directed toward one another, and the passage cross sections of the passage openings between the rods are modifiable by rotating rods of the melting grill. The device enables varied forms of delivery of solid adhesive to be melted at a high specific melting rate without the adhesive thereby being subjected to damage due to excessive thermal stress.