to heat up
80
3.4
- phrasal verb
- /hiːt ʌp/
- The call-in show was heating up: Nixon was either a criminal or a saint.
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Watch on YouTubeIt's really heating up in the rest of the world.
- It's really heating up in the rest of the world.
- Well, by the time we get to July, things are heating up.
- Trump 's Trump's impeachment is really heating up.
- And the Cold War is heating up, and there's a monster presence of Soviet and allied armies in Eastern Europe.
- The tech bro space race really heated up during the pandemic as all sorts of space businesses were taken public as SPAC's.
- So as a conversation heats up, you are already arousing her mind.
- That would doesn't sound like if things are heating up.
- And eventually things start start heating up more.
- You don't get a lot of acceleration feel until the turbos start to kick in and then things really do kind of heat up terms of acceleration.
Examples
-
Things are really heating up at the castle tonight.
-
The healthcare reform continues to heat up in congress, but at what cost to the industry?
-
Things are just beginning to heat up between the couple inside the car.
Fiction book (1993) -
Things are heating up in this final match of the World Cup.
-
Looks like things are heating up quite nicely.
-
The real estate market was heating up, like the weather, so in this respect my timing was good.
Fiction book (2001) -
Yet just as this political infighting was heating up, European powers initiated an even larger conflict.
-
With the points race heating up, this race is primed to be one of the best of the seaso.
-
[Macro] Competition for the Tall Oaks Cup is really heating up.
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As the competition progresses, tensions heat up among the teams.
Synonyms
630
1.0
To become greater in amount or strength
225
4.3
To make feelings, arguments or actions stronger
220
5.5
To become larger, more serious, or more intense
125
3.4
Make something greater in amount, speed or strength
124
4.1
Make people feel excited and ready to act
120
4.1
To make a feeling, effect or situation stronger
99
4.0
Make something stronger or more intense
64
4.1
To increase something, especially its amount or speed
53
4.1
Make someone feel excited and full of energy
52
3.9
To make prices rise to a higher level, often quickly
50
3.8
To increase the level or strength of something, for example volume, production
38
3.9
To make something more interesting or exciting
33
3.4
To raise prices or amounts by a lot
30
4.2
Make a situation more urgent to force someone to act
29
4.7
To give more energy to something, for example with electricity or light
27
6.7
To increase something slowly until it becomes hard to reduce
25
4.1
Rise quickly to a much higher level
24
4.2
Become angry or excited during a discussion
21
4.6
To make something faster or more active
19
3.9
To make or become more active and interesting
16
2.7
To make something more active, alert or interested
12
6.5
To increase something a lot, often efforts or strength
9
5.1
Make something more interesting and lively, like a room or outfit
8
6.7
Make an event like a party more lively and exciting
8
4.1
Make something more active and interesting
5
5.4
To add fuel to a fire or make energy and excitement stronger
4
5.8
To make something much more powerful or effective
3
4.1
Make someone or something more lively and interesting
3
4.6
To suddenly start burning strongly or become much more intense
3
5.1
To make a feeling or desire stronger
3
3.7
Becoming stronger or more intense
2
6.4
To make feelings like anger or excitement stronger
2
4.4
Increase very quickly to a much higher level
2
7.7
To become more active or exciting in a situation
1
8.2
To make something more lively or bright
1
6.3
Become angry or excited in a discussion
1
6.8
To make food quickly or to cause strong excitement
Make people more interested and eager about something
Antonyms
How Intense
220
5.5
99
4.0
80
3.4
- Informal
19
3.9
173
2.2
Surface Forms
Morphology
The components 'heat' (make hotter/intense) and 'up' (increase) transparently signal an increase in intensity, so a learner who knows both words can infer a general meaning of making something more intense. However, the extension to abstract domains (e.g., 'heat up the party' = make it more exciting) relies on a metaphorical mapping rather than a strictly literal composition, so the relation is partially but not fully predictable.
Etymology
Heat up comes from the picture of a pan or room getting hotter; as things get hotter people or events can become stronger or more active, so we say they heat up. That's why it means 'to become more intense, active, or exciting'.