heat-seeking

British  

adjective

1. (of a detecting device) able to detect sources of infrared radiation

   a heat-seeking camera

2. (of a missile) able to detect and follow a source of heat, as from an aircraft engine

   a heat-seeking missile

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Other Word Forms

• heat seeker noun

Example Sentences

Defense Department has placed significantly fewer orders for Alloy Surfaces’ pyrophoric airborne decoys, which the company manufactures in Philadelphia and are used as protection against heat-seeking missiles.

From The Wall Street Journal

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

And Moutra is like a heat-seeking missile when he launches toward the ballcarrier.

From Los Angeles Times

Some of the ideas that felt significant in the darkness don’t stand up to daylight: the dream sequences, an image of a floating gun, the film’s own title — which doesn’t seem to go much further than Archer’s description of the children running like “heat-seeking missiles.”

From Los Angeles Times

Veteran sitcom director James Burrows calls Lavin a “heat-seeking missile for a joke.”

From Los Angeles Times