heat up

verb

heated up; heating up; heats up

1

: to become warm or hot

The morning started out cold but it heated up quickly.

2

: to become more active, intense, or angry

Their conversation started to heat up.

Competition between the two companies is heating up.

3

heat (something) up or heat up (something) : to cause (something) to become warm or hot

Could you heat up the vegetables, please?

Examples of heat up in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Crow-Armstrong had only 7 home runs and 26 RBI in March, April and May, before heating up in June with 11 home runs and 20 RBI. — Todd Feurer, CBS News, 13 Nov. 2026

On the countertop, a 24-quart Crock-Pot begins to heat up dinner, chicken noodle soup. — Rebecca Jennings, Vulture, 12 Nov. 2026

John Malkovich is getting the 60 Minutes profile treatment as the awards buzz surrounding his new film Wild Horse Nine heats up. — Ryan Gajewski, HollywoodReporter, 12 Nov. 2026

Beyond this winter, research suggests extreme rainfall could become more common as climate change heats up the atmosphere. — Alex Harris, Miami Herald, 11 Nov. 2026

Rhymes for heat up

• backup
• blowup
• breakup
• buildup
• checkup
• cleanup
• holdup
• hookup
• lineup
• lockup
• makeup
• markup