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.
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 • Nov. 10, 2025
Backdrop Home, in particular, has zeroed in with shameful, heat-seeking precision on aesthetically obsessed millennials who crave curves and architectural significance but can’t afford the homes that have them.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 3, 2024
Three such titles this year are a heat-seeking troika that involve American notables who, after a period of relative domestic quiet, have showily returned to the international stage.
From New York Times • May 24, 2024
Elite police units are using helicopters and planes equipped with heat-seeking cameras to fly over the forest.
From BBC • Nov. 1, 2023
What about frozen planes, which could be safe from heat-seeking missiles?
From "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close" by Jonathan Safran Foer
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.
