heat up

Idioms and Phrases

Become acute or intense, as in If inflation heats up, the interest rate will surely rise , or The debate over the budget was heating up . [Early 1200s]

Example Sentences

Fossil fuel use is still rising despite positive steps by some countries including the UK and by the EU to wean themselves off the energy sources that do most to heat up our planet.

From BBC

She once again weathered the storm and landed combinations in the second as the bout began to heat up.

From BBC

Its latest State of the Climate report also finds that our oceans are heating up rapidly and glacier melt is accelerating.

From BBC

This is because in the production process milk needs to be heated up and, once made, cheese is stored in energy-hungry refrigerators, meaning that fuel prices play a big part in the cost.

From BBC

When Earth passes through this debris the "comet crumbs" heat up as they enter our atmosphere and burn up in bright bursts of light.

From BBC

Related Words

• agitate
• arouse
• disturb
• embitter
• enrage
• exacerbate
• fire up
• foment
• ignite
• incense
• infuriate
• intensify
• irritate
• kindle
• provoke
• rile
• roil
• rouse
• stimulate
• worsen