the heat

noun

: pressure to do something
The administration is putting the heat on legislators to approve the tax bill.
She's at her best when the heat is on with tight deadlines.
The company has turned up the heat on its employees to finish the job quickly.

Note: The expression if you can't stand/take the heat, get out of the kitchen means that you should not try to do a difficult job if you cannot deal with the pressure and problems that are part of the job.

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web Summer is around the corner and Emily Ratajkowski is already dressing for the heat. Chelsey Sanchez, Harper's BAZAAR, 28 Apr. 2023 Temperatures are controlled with a fan that cycles up and down, blowing on the charcoal to raise or lower the heat. Roy Berendsohn, Popular Mechanics, 25 Apr. 2023 Young is still feeling the heat, even after his best playoff performance in two years with 32 points in Game 3. Mark Heim | Mheim@al.com, al, 24 Apr. 2023 My podocarpus has black on the leaves and suffers in the sun during the heat. Tom Maccubbin, Orlando Sentinel, 22 Apr. 2023 Ramadan is nearly over, but summer and the start of tourist season will turn up the heat. Bouazza Ben Bouazza And Mehdi El Arem, The Christian Science Monitor, 19 Apr. 2023 Luna remembers the elderly women struggled most with the heat. Lauren Mcgaughy, Dallas News, 6 Apr. 2023 More than 85% of these birds were culled in depopulations that used a patently cruel method—VSD plus heat—which amounts to baking animals alive by turning off ventilation and cranking up the heat. Daisy Freund, Treehugger, 21 Apr. 2023 Chemical sunscreens feature, well, chemicals that absorb UV light, convert them to heat in your body which then expels the heat. Isabella Ubaldi, Health, 11 Apr. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'the heat.' 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 the heat

Cite this Entry

“The heat.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/the%20heat. Accessed 2 Jun. 2023.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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