heat wave
Americannoun
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a period of abnormally hot and usually humid weather; heat event.
I moved to the coast up north because summer back home has become one long, unbearable heat wave.
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an air mass of high temperature covering an extended area and moving relatively slowly.
Another heat wave is expected to form across the South and into the Northeast by week’s end.
noun
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a continuous spell of abnormally hot weather
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(not in technical use) an extensive slow-moving air mass at a relatively high temperature
Etymology
Origin of heat wave
First recorded in 1875–80
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
A record-breaking heat wave is scalding California, with major consequences for the state’s most important reservoir: its snowpack.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 21, 2026
Friday is the last day of the significant heat wave, with temperatures in the 90s and low triple digits in the inland valley areas, according to Lewis.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 20, 2026
Temperatures started soaring Thursday and Friday, and though they dipped over the weekend, the heat wave dialed back up on Monday.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 18, 2026
A potentially dangerous, record-setting heat wave is forecast to scorch Los Angeles on Thursday and Friday, with some triple-digit highs possible — up to 30 degrees above normal for this time of year.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 16, 2026
Most people in Bakersfield went to the Hammer when they crashed their car or lost electricity in a heat wave and had all of their ice cream melt.
From "Counting by 7s" by Holly Goldberg Sloan
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
