TEMPERATURE


Meaning of TEMPERATURE in English

/ ˈtemprətʃə(r); NAmE ; NAmE also -tʃʊr/ noun [ C , U ] ( abbr. temp )

1.

the measurement in degrees of how hot or cold a thing or place is :

high / low temperatures

a fall / drop in temperature

a rise in temperature

The temperature has risen (by) five degrees.

Heat the oven to a temperature of 200°C (= degrees centigrade ) .

Some places have had temperatures in the 40s (= over 40° centigrade ) .

—see also absolute temperature , room temperature

2.

the measurement of how hot sb's body is :

to take sb's temperature (= measure the temperature of sb's body using a special instrument)

Does he have a temperature (= is it higher than normal, because of illness) ?

She's running a temperature (= it is higher than normal) .

He's in bed with a temperature of 40°.

—compare fever

IDIOMS

- raise / lower the temperature

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WORD ORIGIN

late Middle English : from French température or Latin temperatura , from temperare restrain. The word originally denoted the state of being tempered or mixed, later becoming synonymous with temperament . The modern sense dates from the late 17th cent.

Oxford Advanced Learner's English Dictionary.      Оксфордский английский словарь для изучающик язык на продвинутом уровне.