heat

noun

1. (uncountable)Thermal energy.

   “Heat and temperature, although different, are intimately related. [...] For example, suppose you added equal amounts of heat to equal masses of iron and aluminum. How do you think their temperatures would change?[…]if the temperature of the iron increased by 100 C°, the corresponding temperature change in the aluminum would be only 48 C°.”

   “Energy has seldom been found where we need it when we want it. Ancient nomads, wishing to ward off the evening chill and enjoy a meal around a campfire, had to collect wood and then spend time and effort coaxing the heat of friction out from between sticks to kindle a flame.”

   “This furnace puts out 5000 BTUs of heat. That engine is really throwing off some heat. Removal of heat from the liquid caused it to turn into a solid.”

2. (uncountable)The condition or quality of being hot.

   “Stay out of the heat of the sun!”

3. (uncountable)An attribute of a spice that causes a burning sensation in the mouth.

   “The chili sauce gave the dish heat.”

4. (uncountable)A period of intensity, particularly of emotion.

   “It's easy to make bad decisions in the heat of the moment.”

5. (uncountable)An undesirable amount of attention.

   “The heat from her family after her DUI arrest was unbearable.”

6. (countable)A fastball.

   “The catcher called for the heat, high and tight.”

7. (uncountable)A condition in which a mammal is aroused sexually or where it is especially fertile and therefore eager to mate.

   “The male canines were attracted by the female in heat.”

8. (countable, slang)A condition in which a mammal is aroused sexually or where it is especially fertile and therefore eager to mate.

   “Some stories engage in dub-con scenarios where one or both partners are out of their minds with heat lust and lose all reasoning and inhibitions.”

   “When Yuri goes into his first heat, it is not only an uncomfortable and traumatic physical experience, it is also an identity crisis: this is the moment realizes that he is an omega, and not a beta as he had previously assumed.”

   “Hannibal's first kiss and his alpha saliva trigger Will's heat, […]”

9. (countable, endearing, slang, uncountable)A condition in which a mammal is aroused sexually or where it is especially fertile and therefore eager to mate.
10. (countable)A preliminary race, used to determine the participants in a final race.

    “The runner had high hopes, but was out of contention after the first heat.”

11. (broadly, countable)A stage in a competition, not necessarily a sporting one; a round.

    “The first heat of the Rotary Young Chef Competition went underway on Monday 16th December…”

12. (countable)One cycle of bringing metal to maximum temperature and working it until it is too cool to work further.

    “I can make a scroll like that in a single heat.”

    “The smiths themselves were a grand lot of fellows, full of a robust, and sometimes Rabelaisian sense of humour, and between "heats," they could be most entertaining.”

13. (countable)A hot spell.

    “The children stayed indoors during this year's summer heat.”

14. (uncountable)Heating system; a system that raises the temperature of a room or building.

    “I'm freezing; could you turn on the heat?”

15. (uncountable)The output of a heating system.

    “During the power outage we had no heat because the controls are electric. Older folks like more heat than the young.”

16. (countable)A violent action unintermitted; a single effort.

    “…many pauses are required for refreshment betwixt the heats….”

17. (slang, uncountable)The police.

    “The heat! Scram!”

    “What a field day for the heat / A thousand people in the street”

    “If you’re black / You might as well not show up on the street / Unless you want to draw the heat”

18. (slang, uncountable)One or more firearms.

    “You carrying heat?" "You saw me unload the pistol," Hugo said. "It's in the waistband. And the kitchen knife. I need that for eating.”

    “Evidently, he wasn't carrying heat with him at the time." "Civilized place like Rome, why bother?" Granger observed.”

    “Pogo Burns is not a guy who likes to be threatened with a rifle. Especially when it's for no good reason. You never show heat unless you plan to use it.”

    “"I should have brought some heat for you." "Heat?" "A burner, man, a gun."”

    “Both were carrying heat, and I slipped their pieces into my pants pockets.”

19. (slang, uncountable)Stylish and valuable sneakers.

    “Whoa, that guy is rocking some serious heat.”

    “Even the boy bands had heat.”

    “The sneaker release calendar is unpredictable like the weather. Some kicks are pure heat, while others deserve to be left out in the cold. Sifting through the mass isn't easy.”

    “So from a working standpoint, does everyone wear heat in the kitchen? I heard you and your chefs talking about it before the interview.”

    “February is always a great month for sneakers. Thanks to the NBA All-Star Game, all of the league's brightest stars use the platform as an opportunity to debut some new heat.”

20. (countable, slang, uncountable)A negative reaction from the audience, especially as a heel (or bad character), or in general.
21. (abbreviation, acronym, alt-of)Acronym of high explosive antitank, a munition using a high explosive shaped charge to breach armour.

verb

1. (transitive)To cause an increase in temperature of (an object or space); to cause to become hot (often with "up").

   “I'll heat up the water.”

2. (intransitive)To become hotter.

   “There's a pot of soup heating on the stove.”

3. (figuratively, transitive)To excite or make hot by action or emotion; to make feverish.

   “Ile leaue you my ſweete Ladie, for a while, pray walke ſoftly, doe not heate your bloud, what, I muſt haue care of you.”

4. (figuratively, transitive)To excite ardour in; to rouse to action; to excite to excess; to inflame, as the passions.

   “A noble emulation heats your breaſt, / And your own fame now robs you of your reſt.”

5. (slang, transitive)To arouse, to excite (sexually).

   “The massage heated her up.”

6. (dialectal, form-of, obsolete, participle, past)simple past and past participle of heat

   “Then was Nebuchad-nezzár ful of rage, and the forme of his viſage was changed againſt Shadrách, Meſhach, & Abednegó: therefore he charged and commanded that they ſhulde heate the fornace at once ſeuen ⁱtimes more then it was wonte to be heate.”

   “The Iron of it ſelfe, though heate red hot, / Approaching neere theſe eyes, would drinke my teares, / And quench this fierie indignation, / Euen in the matter of mine innocence.”

   “HEAT, for heated, is in popular use and pronounced het; but it is not elegant.”