heat

To heat something is to make it hot.  We heat food. We heat our homes. We also heat the environment through our activities. Friction results in heat. 

  • Paula heated some food in the microwave. 
  • Let me heat that up for you. (heat up = make hotter or warmer)  
  • We heat our home with a gas furnace. 
  • A fire produces heat. 
  • Can you feel the heat? 
  • Henry is feeling some heat at work.  
A thermometer in the sand with a blue sky in the background

Can you feel the heat? 

a. heat = to increase temperature

Use “heat” as a verb when making something hotter: 

heat / heated / heated / heating

  • I heated some soup and had it for lunch. 
  • We heat our house with gas. 
  • Some people heat their homes with energy from solar panels or wind turbines. 
  • Human beings are heating up the planet through the burning of fossil fuels such as coal and petroleum. 
  •  Maxine heats most of her food in a microwave oven. 

a. heat = to increase temperature

factory producing smoke
  • Power plants produce energy which we use to heat our homes. 
 
red cook pot
  • You can heat your food using a stove or an oven. 
  • He’s using an oven to heat his food. 
 

b. heat = hotness

You can use “heat” as a noun when something is hot. 

  • The central part of the United States is experiencing a lot of heat right now. It’s going through a heatwave. 
  • Pedro is standing under a shady tree to avoid the heat. 
  • Where do you go to escape the heat? 
  • The heat that comes from a gas stove is easy to regulate, but the stove produces noxious gas. 
  • We use electric appliances for heat. 
  • Sandra enjoys the heat when she vacations in Florida during the month of January. 

b. heat = hotness

fire in brown round pot
  • Long ago, human beings learned to use the heat from a fire to cook meat. This resulted in easier digestion. 
selective focus photography of woman wearing straw hat
  • A hat can help protect your head from the sun and the heat. 

c. expressions, idioms, slang

When used in an expression or as slang, the word heat” usually refers to a certain amount of pressure, stress, or competition. 

  • If you can’t stand the heat, stay out of the kitchen. (If you can’t handle the pressure, don’t engage in the activity that causes it. ) 
  • The company is turning up the heat on Edgar because it suspects he’s been stealing from the company. 
  • She performed brilliantly In the heat of the moment. 
  • That guy is packing heat. (heat = a gun) 
  • Ed always comes up with the money he owes when the heat is on. (heat = pressure) 

c. expessions, idioms, slang

A teacher reprimands a student caught cheating in a classroom with study materials on the desk.
  • He’s feeling the heat from his teacher who suspects he’s been cheating. (heat = scrutiny or pressure) 
Two running cars on race track
  • Despite maintaining a stead lead throughout the race, he was passed In the final heat. (the final heat = the last lap or the last part of a race)  

 

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