heat up
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
As the argument heated up, Swygert, who lived in the Bronx, pulled a gun and sprayed the group with bullets.
—
Rebecca White, New York Daily News, 22 May 2026
While a new space race heats up between the US and China, Lunar Outpost and a long list of other NASA partners are working hard behind the scenes on the technologies that will enable the lunar infrastructure of the future.
—Chris Young, Interesting Engineering, 22 May 2026
El Dorado County’s treasurer-tax collector race is heating up with less than two weeks before the June 2 primary election.
—Corey Schmidt, Sacbee.com, 22 May 2026
There’s a new soft serve shop serving cool, creamy treats as temperatures heat up.
—Tanasia Kenney, Charlotte Observer, 22 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for heat up
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Rebecca White, New York Daily News, 22 May 2026
While a new space race heats up between the US and China, Lunar Outpost and a long list of other NASA partners are working hard behind the scenes on the technologies that will enable the lunar infrastructure of the future.
—Chris Young, Interesting Engineering, 22 May 2026
El Dorado County’s treasurer-tax collector race is heating up with less than two weeks before the June 2 primary election.
—Corey Schmidt, Sacbee.com, 22 May 2026
There’s a new soft serve shop serving cool, creamy treats as temperatures heat up.
—Tanasia Kenney, Charlotte Observer, 22 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for heat up
Cite this Entry
“Heat up.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/heat%20up. Accessed 24 May. 2026.
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