heat
• noun 1 the quality of being hot; high temperature. 2 heat seen as a form of energy arising from the random motion of molecules. 3 a source or level of heat for cooking. 4 intensity of feeling, especially of anger or excitement. 5 (the heat) informal intensive and unwelcome pressure: the heat is on. 6 a preliminary round in a race or contest. • verb 1 make or become hot or warm. 2 (heat up) become more intense and exciting. 3 heated inflamed with passion or conviction: a heated argument. — PHRASES if you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen proverb if you can’t cope with the pressures of a situation, you should leave others to deal with it rather than complaining. in the heat of the moment while temporarily angry or excited and without stopping for thought. on heat (of a female mammal) in the receptive period of the sexual cycle; in oestrus. — DERIVATIVES heatedly adverb. — ORIGIN Old English, related to HOT.
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