heat up

phrasal 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

As the artificial intelligence industry heats up, Karman Industries is trying to cool it down. —Los Angeles Times, 22 Jan. 2026

Turn heat up to moderately high and put chicken breasts in the skillet. —Gretchen McKay, Twin Cities, 22 Jan. 2026

Interest in credit cards is expected to heat up in 2026. —Brian Page, CNBC, 22 Jan. 2026

Apple is developing a wearable AI ‘pin’ device The race to create the ideal gadget for the AI era is heating up, with Apple reportedly planning a new screenless ‘pin’ device that users can affix to a shirt, according to The Information. —Alexei Oreskovic, Fortune, 22 Jan. 2026

Rhymes for heat up

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