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
Also heating up is Chasing Red, a romance being produced by Stampede Ventures.
—
Borys Kit, The Hollywood Reporter, 16 Apr. 2024
Both of Estrada’s homers were no-doubters to left field, and the second baseman appears to be heating up.
—Evan Webeck, The Mercury News, 13 Apr. 2024
Abrams left a law firm job to become an associate producer at Court TV and was promoted to reporter just before the Simpson case heated up.
—Stephen Battaglio, Los Angeles Times, 11 Apr. 2024
Summer travel is about to heat up, and flight prices may be downright scorching this season.
—Alison Fox, Travel + Leisure, 11 Apr. 2024
While the weather heats up, other chains are rolling out frozen treats.
—Sabrina Weiss, Peoplemag, 11 Apr. 2024
In the years since, as the education culture wars have heated up, the Freedom Foundation has again positioned itself at the center.
—Becca Savransky, ProPublica, 9 Apr. 2024
The cool weather this spring delayed some planting, but temperatures are heating up just in time for plant sales going on all over the state.
—Janet B. Carson, arkansasonline.com, 8 Apr. 2024
Republicans involved in the convention planning say business in Milwaukee should begin heating up soon, though.
—Jonathan Weisman, New York Times, 7 Apr. 2024
Borys Kit, The Hollywood Reporter, 16 Apr. 2024
Both of Estrada’s homers were no-doubters to left field, and the second baseman appears to be heating up.
—Evan Webeck, The Mercury News, 13 Apr. 2024
Abrams left a law firm job to become an associate producer at Court TV and was promoted to reporter just before the Simpson case heated up.
—Stephen Battaglio, Los Angeles Times, 11 Apr. 2024
Summer travel is about to heat up, and flight prices may be downright scorching this season.
—Alison Fox, Travel + Leisure, 11 Apr. 2024
While the weather heats up, other chains are rolling out frozen treats.
—Sabrina Weiss, Peoplemag, 11 Apr. 2024
In the years since, as the education culture wars have heated up, the Freedom Foundation has again positioned itself at the center.
—Becca Savransky, ProPublica, 9 Apr. 2024
The cool weather this spring delayed some planting, but temperatures are heating up just in time for plant sales going on all over the state.
—Janet B. Carson, arkansasonline.com, 8 Apr. 2024
Republicans involved in the convention planning say business in Milwaukee should begin heating up soon, though.
—Jonathan Weisman, New York Times, 7 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'heat up.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near heat up
Cite this Entry
“Heat up.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/heat%20up. Accessed 23 Apr. 2024.
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