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

Although this weekend is light on newcomers, the fall box office is expected to heat up before September ends. — Rebecca Rubin, Variety, 16 Sep. 2026

Commentary and opinion As Newsom winds down in California, things heat up in Nevada. — Jack Dolan, Los Angeles Times, 16 Sep. 2026

Hot summer days are fading fast, but the midterm election season is heating up. — Jason Karlawish, STAT, 16 Sep. 2026

As the competition heats up each week, couples will be eliminated based on judges' scores and viewer votes until one pair is crowned the season 35 champion. — ABC News, 15 Sep. 2026

Rhymes for heat up

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