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

Thanks to their extended bottom design, the pans heat up quickly and evenly. —Bestreviews, Mercury News, 28 Nov. 2025

This outdoor patio heater spreads heat up to 20 feet away, and the flame is easy to light in under five seconds. —Molly Blanco, Better Homes & Gardens, 27 Nov. 2025

After the spring selling season flopped, the housing market is finally heating up in the colder autumn months as sellers slash prices more aggressively. —Jason Ma, Fortune, 27 Nov. 2025

With some rosters already taking shape after the recent trades of Sonny Gray and the Brandon Nimmo swap for Marcus Semien, the stove is heating up in the weeks before the winter meetings. —Drew Vonscio, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 Nov. 2025

Rhymes for heat up

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