heat-seeking
Britishadjective
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(of a detecting device) able to detect sources of infrared radiation
a heat-seeking camera
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(of a missile) able to detect and follow a source of heat, as from an aircraft engine
a heat-seeking missile
Other Word Forms
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.
They also reportedly have dispensers for chaff -- metal shavings that distract radar-guided missiles -- and flares that blind heat-seeking missiles.
From Barron's ● Jul. 10, 2026
L.A.’s heat-seeking “Showtime” franchise is obsessed over more than any other, in good times and especially troubled ones, to the point where it smothers other NBA coverage and drives many fans nuts.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2025
And Moutra is like a heat-seeking missile when he launches toward the ballcarrier.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 29, 2025
They have been joined by Israeli and Mexican search teams and are using sophisticated heat-seeking equipment to try to locate anyone still alive.
From BBC ● Apr. 9, 2025
He had to have been thinking a bomb was about to drop, that Cade Hernandez was about to deploy a heat-seeking missile.
From "100 Sideways Miles" by Andrew Smith
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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.