heat wave

or heat·wave

[heet-weyv]

See more synonyms for heat wave on Thesaurus.com

noun

an air mass of high temperature covering an extended area and moving relatively slowly.
a period of abnormally hot and usually humid weather.

Origin of heat wave

First recorded in 1875–80

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for heat wave

Historical Examples of heat wave

We were in a furnace—a heat-wave in which we were like to drown.
Hesperothen; Notes from the West, Vol. 1 (of 2)
W. H. Russell
The first touched upon an untimely, although welcome, heat-wave.
Adventures and Enthusiasms
E. V. Lucas
The heat-wave had put forward the almanac, and the Newport season was in full swing nearly a month in advance of its usual date.
The Terms of Surrender
Louis Tracy
Because, five weeks later, there was a heat-wave in the Red Sea, and everybody took off all the clothes they had.
Just So Stories
Rudyard Kipling

British Dictionary definitions for heat wave

heat wave

noun

a continuous spell of abnormally hot weather
(not in technical use) an extensive slow-moving air mass at a relatively high temperature

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012