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

Meanwhile, competition from China has been heating up, both in the ‌race to ⁠develop advanced chips and as Chinese firms roll out cheaper AI models. — Reuters, NBC news, 29 July 2026

Those rumors are heating up after claims that the two were spotted hanging out in the Hamptons over the weekend. — Sean Joseph Outkick, FOXNews.com, 28 July 2026

The quantum computing race is heating up, with tech giants like Microsoft, Google, and IBM aiming for commercial quantum computers by 2029. — David Prosser, Forbes.com, 28 July 2026

Though this amorphous title isn’t usually anointed until around Labor Day, the chatter starts almost as soon as the season heats up. — Marissa R. Moss, Rolling Stone, 27 July 2026

Rhymes for heat up

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