heat up
To make something hot, or for something to get hot; or for a situation to get more exciting or tense.
Meanings
To make food or a substance hotter, or for something to become physically hotter.
"Can you heat up the leftover soup while I set the table?"
(figurative) For a situation, competition, or conflict to become more intense, exciting, or aggressive.
"The political debate is really heating up ahead of next month's election."
(of weather or a place) To become hot or warmer.
"The desert heats up very quickly once the sun is fully out."
Extremely versatile. Used literally for food, rooms, and weather, and figuratively for arguments, political situations, competitions, and relationships. In the figurative sense it is always intransitive ('things are heating up'). In the literal sense it can be both transitive ('heat up the soup') and intransitive ('the oven is heating up').
Commonly used with
Forms
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