central heating

American  

noun

1. a system that supplies heat to an entire building from a single source through ducts or through pipes.

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central heating British  

noun

1. a system for heating the rooms of a building by means of radiators or air vents connected by pipes or ducts to a central source of heat

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Etymology

Origin of central heating

First recorded in 1905–10

Example Sentences

I received a similar question recently from a reader who had employed a heating engineer to fix their central heating.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 14, 2026

O'Dowd explained that with half a million homes in NI relying on oil fired central heating the funding works out at around £35 per household.

From BBC • Mar. 16, 2026

Before Russia's full-scale invasion of 2022, about 11 million households in Ukraine relied on central heating, compared to seven million autonomously heated households, Ukrainian energy expert Yuriy Korolchuk said.

From BBC • Jan. 24, 2026

Although there are lots of plug-in heaters on the market, Mr Trapp warned that these can often be more expensive than using central heating.

From BBC • Jan. 3, 2026

I heard the whirr of the central heating.

From "The London Eye Mystery" by Siobhan Dowd