✨📕 The NEWThe NEW Collegiate Dictionary, 12th Edition Over 5,000 words added — Buy Now! Collegiate DictionaryBuy Now!

heat wave

noun

: a period of unusually hot weather

Examples of heat wave in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Poor weather conditions — like severe thunderstorms and heat waves — early in the season also hampered attendance as the company was forced to shut down parks for several days, Cramer continued. Julie Coleman, CNBC, 24 Nov. 2025 Similarly, today’s children will experience more than twice as many heat waves than their 35-year-old parents will—and more than six times as many as their 65-year-old grandparents. Meghan Bartels, Scientific American, 22 Nov. 2025 Factors such as the strength of the SSW, the atmospheric response and the concurrent influence of La Niña and Pacific marine heat waves will determine how extreme or persistent chilly conditions become. Anna Skinner, MSNBC Newsweek, 21 Nov. 2025 And communities are already experiencing more dangerous storms, flooding and heat waves. Rebecca Hersher, NPR, 19 Nov. 2025 See All Example Sentences for heat wave

Word History

First Known Use

1893, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of heat wave was in 1893

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Heat wave.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/heat%20wave. Accessed 2 Dec. 2025.

Kids Definition

heat wave

noun
: a period of unusually hot weather

More from Merriam-Webster on heat wave

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!