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

These ethically complex practices around the beginning and end of life have always stirred controversy, but the conversation is heating up — just as some American political leaders are espousing eugenic ideas. —O. Rose Broderick, STAT, 2 Jan. 2026

This breakfast dish feeds a crowd but is also great to keep in the fridge and heat up on busy mornings. —Josh Miller, Southern Living, 31 Dec. 2025

Europe is fastest-warming continent on planet, heating up twice as much as the global average since the 1980s, according to a 2023 report by Copernicus, European Union's climate change service, and the World Meteorological Organization. —Julia Jacobo, ABC News, 31 Dec. 2025

Women’s sports continued to transform in 2025, as earnings and valuations rose, leagues expanded, and labor negotiations heated up. —Sportico.com, 31 Dec. 2025

Rhymes for heat up

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