heat exhaustion

American  

noun

1. a condition characterized by faintness, rapid pulse, nausea, profuse sweating, cool skin, and collapse, caused by prolonged exposure to heat accompanied by loss of adequate fluid and salt from the body.

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heat exhaustion British  

noun

1. Also called: heat prostration.  a condition resulting from exposure to intense heat, characterized by dizziness, abdominal cramp, and prostration Compare heatstroke

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Etymology

Origin of heat exhaustion

First recorded in 1935–40

Example Sentences

Experts speculated that dry-lot cows can’t sweat as freely as free-range cows, and that weather and feedlot conditions contributed to deadly heat exhaustion.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 14, 2026

Israeli media reported that the incident could have been connected to the daycare's heating system, suggesting heat exhaustion and dehydration as possible causes.

From Barron's • Jan. 20, 2026

Brazilian Piquet struggled with heat exhaustion in the final stages but was able to come home fifth, giving him the two points he needed to overtake Reutemann, with Laffite in sixth.

From BBC • Dec. 1, 2025

I had always thought that if I felt thirsty during exercise, and especially in hot weather, then I was in trouble—dehydrated and at risk of heat exhaustion.

From Slate • Aug. 17, 2025

At first, I thought he just had heat exhaustion or something.

From "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian" by Sherman Alexie