Synonyms

het up

American

[het] / hɛt /

adjective

Informal.

indignant; irate; upset.

She was really het up about the new city tax.
enthusiastic.

John is suddenly het up about racing cars.

het up British

adjective

angry; excited

too many people are getting het up about money in rugby

"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

Etymology

Origin of het up

1920–25; het, archaic or dial. past participle of heat + up

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.

See Examples For:

het up

However, he said the pair complemented each other, because "when Maurice got het up about anything, Fred would calm him down".

From BBC ● Aug. 30, 2025

So why has the Chanel version gotten people so het up?

From New York Times ● Dec. 6, 2021

“What’s the good of rushin’? No use in gettin’ all het up an’ sweaty.

From Slate ● Nov. 25, 2018

There’s no need to get quite so het up about it.

From The Guardian ● Nov. 23, 2015

An' she got so het up oveh her hawd luck thet she lost her memory an' couldn't remember thet she was owin' him anything when they come ter settle up.

From The Song of the Wolf by Mayer, Frank

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023