heat wave
30
3.2
- noun
- /hiːt weɪv/
:
ola de calor
- What I did not plan was that exactly this week the South of France where I live would be on heat wave alert.
- summer heat wave
- temperatures during heat wave
- extreme heat wave
But I am not complaining because last year we didn't have air conditioning and we had a heat wave and it was terrible.
- But I am not complaining because last year we didn't have air conditioning and we had a heat wave and it was terrible.
- Then you ask how often a certain extreme weather event like heat wave or flood would occur in some period of time.
- And he says, you know, the climate crisis there, there are these events like the heat wave in Seattle that killed people.
- What I did not plan was that exactly this week the South of France where I live would be on heat wave alert.
- Jeff Nesbitt is the author of This is the Way the World Ends, How droughts and die offs, heat waves and hurricanes are converging on America.
- Because it was suits and ties at the time and fancy dresses and things like that for funerals, even in the middle of an August summer heat wave.
- But they had a drought, a heat wave and wildfires completely wiped out all the Mizuna Red Streaks mustard that they were growing.
Examples
-
The European heat wave of 2003 provides a window onto a possible climate future.
Academic text (2006) -
We're still having a heat wave here in the UK to the point where I can't really breathe anymore.
-
We're having a real heat wave.
-
This would mean more cold air in middle and northern Europe and more heat waves in southern Europe.
-
And with the heat wave and everything, it must be about 100 degrees in here.
Fiction book (1995) -
There is no break in the heat wave and none forecast.
Fiction book (1996) -
Add to that, this heat wave, and the beaches will be packed in by noon.
-
There's no end in sight from this heat wave.
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In Pakistan, over 1,200 people died in the heat wave there.
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The weather forecast predicts a heat wave that will last for several days this week.
Synonyms
3
3.0
A long period of very hot weather that can harm people and crops
1
3.5
A period of several days with much hotter weather than usual
Antonyms
How Hot
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a period of unusually hot weather' is directly and transparently built from 'heat' (high temperature) combined with 'wave' (a surge or period), so a B1 learner who knows both words can infer the phrase. The use of 'wave' to mean a temporary surge or period is cross-linguistically common (e.g., Spanish 'ola de calor'), reinforcing transparency.
Etymology
Heat wave brings to mind a wave of heat moving over land, like a large push of warm air rolling from place to place. That's why it means 'a period of very hot weather that lasts for several days'.