central heating

American  

noun

1. a system that supplies heat to an entire building from a single source through ducts or through pipes.

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central heating British  

noun

1. a system for heating the rooms of a building by means of radiators or air vents connected by pipes or ducts to a central source of heat

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Etymology

Origin of central heating

First recorded in 1905–10

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

central heating

I received a similar question recently from a reader who had employed a heating engineer to fix their central heating.

From MarketWatch ● Apr. 14, 2026

In Zaporizhzhia, a frontline city home to 750,000 people, almost three-quarters of residents rely on central heating, according to Maksym Rohalsky, the head of the local association of apartment block dwellers.

From BBC ● Jan. 24, 2026

"Obviously we've got it for the cold months. We've got the central heating on more. It's made a big difference. You know it's coming, so it's your standby," said Mr Jones.

From BBC ● Dec. 31, 2025

Dina Ingram, an office administrator in London, used to turn on the central heating in her four-room house for long stretches.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 2, 2025

At night, Shin again followed the homeless to semisheltered sleeping places they had found near buildings with central heating systems.

From "Escape from Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West" by Blaine Harden