heat wave

noun

Definition of heat wavenext
as in dog days

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Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of heat wave Miami tied its all-time high temperature of 100 degrees Fahrenheit on Tuesday, amid a sprawling heat wave that is affecting areas from Texas to the Southeast. — Andrew Freedman, CNN Money, 19 Aug. 2026 The historic reading came as a punishing heat wave stretched across large portions of the South, where high temperatures combined with humidity to send feels-like temperatures soaring. — Dave Quinn, PEOPLE, 19 Aug. 2026 Farmers go to many lengths to keep their animals comfortable during a heat wave, using fans, water spraying and environmental monitoring driving up their costs. — Sylvie Bigar, Forbes.com, 18 Aug. 2026 Although climate scientists warned in the nineteen-eighties that extreme heat posed a growing danger, policymakers in Europe didn’t come to grips with it until August, 2003, when a heat wave killed more than seventy thousand people. — Eric Klinenberg, New Yorker, 17 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for heat wave
Recent Examples of Synonyms for heat wave
heat
Noun
  • The National Weather Service has issued an extreme heat warning that applies to more than 1 million people in San Diego County, mostly across inland valleys, foothills and mountains where high temperatures will approach or exceed 95 to 114 degrees.
    — Gary Robbins, San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 Aug. 2026
  • The system can be transported using conventional equipment and can use liquid or air cooling, while its thermal output can also provide process heat.
    — Georgina Jedikovska, Interesting Engineering, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of heat

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heat-treats
heat wave
heave
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Cite this Entry

“Heat wave.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/heat%20wave. Accessed 29 Aug. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on heat wave

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about heat wave

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