Meaning & use
heat
Last updated
Meanings
noununcountable
The quality of being hot, or the warmth that something gives off.
Grammar: Usually uncountable: the heat of the sun.
Patterns
- the heat of something
The heat from the oven filled the kitchen.
We stayed indoors to avoid the afternoon heat.
She felt the heat of the fire on her face.
noununcountablephysics
A form of energy that moves from a warmer object to a cooler one and can raise temperature.
Grammar: A science term, as in heat transfer.
Patterns
- heat from something
Metal conducts heat well.
Friction turns movement into heat.
Heat flows from the stove to the pot.
noununcountablefigurative
Strong feeling, especially anger or excitement, during an argument or competition.
Grammar: Often in the phrase in the heat of the moment.
Patterns
- in the heat of something
In the heat of the moment, he said something he regretted.
The heat of the debate surprised the audience.
Tempers rose in the heat of the argument.
nouncountablesport
One of the early rounds of a race or contest whose winners go on to the next stage.
Grammar: Plural heats: qualifying heats.
Patterns
- win a heat
She won her heat and reached the final.
The swimmers prepared for the first heat.
He was knocked out in the heats.
verbtransitive or intransitive
To make something warm or hot, or to become warm or hot.
Grammar: Heat the soup; the soup heats slowly. Often used with up.
Patterns
- heat something up
- heat up
Heat the oil in a pan.
The house heats quickly in summer.
I'll heat up the leftovers.
Word forms
| third person singular | heats |
|---|---|
| past tense | heated |
| past participle | heated |
| -ing form | heating |
| plural | heats |
Common combinations
- intense heat
- The workers endured intense heat in the factory.
- in the heat of the moment
- I spoke in the heat of the moment.
- heat wave
- A heat wave hit the city in July.
- beat the heat
- We went swimming to beat the heat.
- turn up the heat
- The coach turned up the heat on the team.
- take the heat
- The manager had to take the heat for the mistake.
Synonyms and how they differ
- warmth
- Warmth is gentler and pleasant, while heat can be intense or uncomfortable.
- temperature
- Temperature is the measured degree of hotness, while heat is the energy or sensation.
- hotness
- Hotness is rare and describes a state, while heat is the natural word.
- fever
- Fever is raised body temperature from illness, a medical sense of heat.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: heat or hit?
heat vs hit
Hit is a different word meaning to strike, and the pronunciation is different.
Practice
He said something unkind in the ____ of the moment and apologized later.
Choose one answer.
The idiom is in the heat of the moment, meaning while emotions were strong. The other words are similar in sound but do not fit the idiom.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “heat”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.