heat wave
or heat·wave
[ heet-weyv ]
/ ˈhitˌweɪv /
noun
an air mass of high temperature covering an extended area and moving relatively slowly.
a period of abnormally hot and usually humid weather.
RELATED CONTENT
Deep State And Other Trending Words On Dictionary.comTurpitude, venality, and demagogue When former CIA Director John Brennan weighed in on the firing of former Deputy Director of the FBI Andrew McCabe, he likely expected to make waves. But did he know he’d send searches for his word choices skyrocketing on Dictionary.com? The director’s tweet, issued in response to President Donald Trump, represents the biggest spike in searches on Dictionary.com this week! If …
Nearby words
heat shield, heat sink, heat stroke, heat up, heat urticaria, heat wave, heat-island, heat-labile, heat-moon, heat-seal, heat-seeking
Origin of heat wave
First recorded in 1875–80
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for heat wave
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 TracyBecause, 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 KiplingWe 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. RussellThe first touched upon an untimely, although welcome, heat-wave.
Adventures and Enthusiasms|E. V. Lucas
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