heat wave
Americannoun
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heat waves
plural
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a period of abnormally hot and usually humid weather; heat event.
I moved to the coast up north because summer back home has become one long, unbearable heat wave.
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an air mass of high temperature covering an extended area and moving relatively slowly.
Another heat wave is expected to form across the South and into the Northeast by week’s end.
noun
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a continuous spell of abnormally hot weather
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(not in technical use) an extensive slow-moving air mass at a relatively high temperature
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of heat wave
First recorded in 1875–80
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.
The new findings suggest another possibility: helping bleached corals recover quickly enough to survive the dangerous period following a marine heat wave.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 19, 2026
I learned my lesson after a heat wave in Davis, Calif.: A power surge from an exploding transformer fried the circuit board of my refrigerator.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
“This is not going to be a heat wave that suddenly breaks in a dramatic fashion,” said UC Agriculture and Natural Resources climate scientist Daniel Swain.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026
The current heat wave has already broken daily heat records across the Southland.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 5, 2026
"Never go to the beach on the Sunday of Labor Day weekend. Especially when there's been a heat wave for more than a week."
From "The Lemonade War" by Jacqueline Davies
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