# heat

Pronunciation: say "HEET" US /hit/, UK /hiːt/

## Noun

1. The property of being hot, or the state of having a high temperature.
   - Simple: The quality or feeling of being hot.
   - _The heat of the midday sun drove everyone indoors._
   - _She tested the heat of the bathwater with her elbow before lowering the baby in._
2. Thermal energy, the energy associated with the temperature and motion of particles in matter.
   - Simple: The energy that makes things feel warm or hot.
   - _Heat flows from the warm radiator into the cold room._
   - _Good insulation slows the loss of heat through the walls._
4. A period of very hot weather.
   - Simple: A time when the weather is very hot.
   - _The heat that settled over the city in July broke records and kept people indoors for days._
   - _The region suffered through record heat last August, with temperatures above 40 degrees._
5. The heating system of a room or building, or the warmth it produces.
   - Simple: The system that warms a building, or the warmth that comes from it.
   - _The landlord finally fixed the heat last week._
   - _Our old building's heat runs on a gas boiler._
6. A preliminary round of a race or other competition, whose winners go on to a later round or final.
   - Simple: An early round of a race or contest that decides who goes on to the final.
   - _He clocked the fastest time in the opening heat._
   - _The swimmers were sorted into four separate heats._
8. The burning sensation in the mouth caused by a spice.
   - Simple: The burning taste that spicy foods give your mouth.
   - _The curry had a slow heat that built with every bite._
   - _Cooks balance the heat of chilies with something sweet._
9. A period of intensity, especially of emotion.
   - Simple: A time of very strong feelings or excitement.
   - _In the heat of the final debate, both candidates lost their composure._
   - _Promises made in the heat of passion rarely survive the morning._
10. An unwelcome amount of attention or pressure.
   - Simple: Unwanted attention that causes trouble for someone.
   - _The CEO took the heat for the failed project._
   - _Public anger brought serious heat onto the police chief._
11. A period during which a female mammal is sexually receptive and especially fertile, and therefore eager to mate.
   - Simple: The time when a female animal is ready to mate.
   - _The mare came into heat earlier than the breeder expected._
   - _Farmers separate cows in heat to control breeding._
12. Sexual arousal in a person, likened to that of a mammal ready to mate. *(slang)*
   - Simple: Strong sexual excitement in a person.
   - _The heat between the two lovers was obvious to everyone in the room._
   - _He could barely think through the heat of his desire._
13. A fastball, especially one thrown at high velocity.
   - Simple: A very fast pitch thrown in baseball.
   - _The closer reared back and threw pure heat past the batter._
   - _Scouts loved the rookie's heat, clocked in the upper nineties._
14. The police, especially in the slang of criminals and the underworld. *(slang)*
   - Simple: The police, especially seen as a threat by criminals.
   - _The dealers cleared the corner the moment the heat rolled by._
   - _He warned his crew that the heat had been asking questions._
15. Firearms, especially a gun carried on one's person. *(slang)*
   - Simple: A gun, or guns, that a person carries.
   - _Word on the street was that he started packing heat after the threats._
   - _Nobody in that crew moved without heat._
16. A negative reaction from an audience, especially the booing directed at a villainous wrestler, or hostility from a crowd in general. *(slang)*
   - Simple: Boos and anger from a crowd, especially aimed at a wrestling villain.
   - _The new heel generated real heat with every dirty move._
   - _As soon as the masked villain walked out, he drew so much heat that the boos drowned out his music._
18. A single cycle of bringing metal to its maximum working temperature and shaping it until it cools too much to be worked further.
   - Simple: One round of heating metal until it is hot, then shaping it until it gets too cool to work.
   - _The smith finished the hook in one heat at the forge._
   - _Drawing out the long taper took three separate heats._

## Verb

3. To make something hot or warmer, or to become hot or warmer.
   - Simple: To make something hotter, or to get hotter.
   - _They heat the old building with a single gas furnace._
   - _She heated the milk until it began to steam._
7. To make someone hot, flushed, or excited, or to stir up strong feelings or passion in them.
   - Simple: To make someone hot or excited, or to stir up strong feelings in them.
   - _The wine and the music had heated the crowd, and soon everyone was shouting and singing._
   - _Strong emotion can heat the face in an instant._
17. To sexually arouse or excite someone. *(slang)*
   - Simple: To make someone feel sexual excitement.
   - _The couple's slow, close dancing heated them both up, and they left the party early._
   - _After weeks apart, just hearing his voice on the phone was enough to heat her up._

## Verb

19. Simple past and past participle of heat. *(obsolete)* (pronounced: say "HET" /hɛt/)
   - Simple: Simple past and past participle of heat. An old, dialect form used where modern English says "heated."

## Other meanings

- (noun) Stylish, highly sought-after sneakers, prized for their look and resale value.
- (noun) A single, sustained burst of vigorous effort carried out without pause.
- (noun) In omegaverse fiction, a recurring period during which omega characters feel an intense, sometimes irresistible biological urge to mate.

## Origin

**Meanings 1–2, 4–6, 8–16, 18** — From Middle English hete, from Old English hǣtu, going back through Proto-Germanic *haitį̄ ("heat") to Proto-Indo-European *keHy- ("heat; hot"). It is related to Dutch hitte, German Hitze, and Swedish hetta.
**Meanings 3, 7, 17** — Proto-Germanic *haitijaną, meaning "to heat, make hot," gave Old English hǣtan, meaning "to heat" or "become hot," and that became Middle English heten.
**Meaning 19** — There are two possible explanations. It may be another spelling of het ("heated"), carrying on late Middle English heet, het, a simple past of heten made by analogy with bet (the past of beten). Or it may have been formed later by analogy with the past forms of beat.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/heat (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).