heat wave

American  

[heet wayv] / ˈhit ˌweɪv /

Or heatwave

noun

Meteorology, Climatology.

• heat waves
  plural

1. 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.

2. 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.

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heat wave British  

noun

1. a continuous spell of abnormally hot weather

2. (not in technical use) an extensive slow-moving air mass at a relatively high temperature

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• heat waves
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of heat wave

First recorded in 1875–80

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

heat wave

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

On the heels of a miserably sticky summer, an unusually long October heat wave is set to arrive, according to forecasters.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026

A wildfire that destroys energy generation facilities during a significant heat wave, for example, could cause enough capacity loss to generate the use of these tools, said Ackemann.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026

Now the room was crowded with soldiers, and the smell of infection was made worse by the continuing heat wave.

From "Finding Junie Kim" by Ellen Oh

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