/ hiːt; NAmE / noun , verb
■ noun
BEING HOT / TEMPERATURE
1.
[ U , sing. ] the quality of being hot :
He could feel the heat of the sun on his back.
Heat rises.
The fire gave out a fierce heat.
—see also white heat
2.
[ U , C , usually sing. ] the level of temperature :
to increase / reduce the heat
Test the heat of the water before getting in.
Set the oven to a low / high / moderate heat.
—see also blood heat
3.
[ U ] hot weather; the hot conditions in a building / vehicle, etc. :
You should not go out in the heat of the day (= at the hottest time) .
to suffer from the heat
the afternoon / midday heat
The heat in the factory was unbearable.
—see also prickly heat
FOR COOKING
4.
[ U ] a source of heat, especially one that you cook food on :
Return the pan to the heat and stir.
IN BUILDING / ROOM
5.
[ U ] ( especially NAmE ) = heating :
The heat wasn't on and the house was freezing.
STRONG FEELINGS
6.
[ U ] strong feelings, especially of anger or excitement :
'No, I won't,' he said with heat in his voice.
The chairman tried to take the heat out of the situation (= to make people calmer) .
In the heat of the moment she forgot what she wanted to say (= because she was so angry or excited) .
In the heat of the argument he said a lot of things he regretted later.
PRESSURE
7.
[ U ] pressure on sb to do or achieve sth :
The heat is on now that the election is only a week away.
United turned up the heat on their opponents with a second goal.
Can she take the heat of this level of competition?
RACE
8.
[ C ] one of a series of races or competitions, the winners of which then compete against each other in the next part of the competition :
a qualifying heat
She won her heat.
He did well in the heats ; hopefully he'll do as well in the final.
—see also dead heat
•
IDIOMS
- be on heat
- if you can't stand the heat (get out of the kitchen)
■ verb
to make sth hot or warm; to become hot or warm :
[ vn ]
Heat the oil and add the onions.
The system produced enough energy to heat several thousand homes.
[also v ]
•
PHRASAL VERBS
- heat up
- heat sth up
••
WORD ORIGIN
Old English hǣtu (noun), hǣtan (verb), of Germanic origin; related to Dutch hitte (noun) and German heizen (verb), also to hot .