First recorded in 1960–65
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
And they would add crucial green space to reduce the heat island effect, she says.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 24, 2026
Experts say cities like Delhi are especially vulnerable because of the "urban heat island effect", where concrete, traffic and limited green cover trap heat and keep cities hotter than surrounding areas.
From BBC ● May 28, 2026
In cities, the trend is compounded by the fact that the built environment absorbs and retains more heat than the rural area around it, a phenomenon known as the urban heat island effect.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 31, 2025
Ruese also suggested that local leaders improve urban infrastructure so that it reduces heat, and in particular the urban heat island effect.
From Salon ● Apr. 15, 2024
"And in addition, you'll have this positive impact on the metropolitan-scale heat island effect."
From Science Daily ● Feb. 12, 2024
And artificial turf is disproportionately installed to replace private lawns and public landscaping in economically disadvantaged communities that already face the greatest consequences of the urban heat-island effect, in which hard surfaces raise local temperatures.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2024
“Here, like other hardworking immigrants, they performed tireless, invisible labor for the city, sequestering carbon, countering the heat-island effect, and reducing the pollution of storm-water runoff,” Kinney wrote.
From Slate ● Mar. 16, 2024
Trees in cities are vital: They absorb CO2, reduce the urban heat-island effect, shelter endangered birds and are one of our greatest assets in our fight against climate change.
From Seattle Times ● May 20, 2022
The main problem driving the so-called "heat-island effect" is tall buildings.
From Salon ● Aug. 12, 2021
In cities, concrete also adds to the heat-island effect by absorbing the warmth of the sun and trapping gases from car exhausts and air-conditioner units – though it is, at least, better than darker asphalt.
From The Guardian ● Feb. 25, 2019
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.
