heatwave

Language: en

📖 Definitions

  1. noun
    A prolonged period of excessively hot weather, often accompanied by high humidity, that is significantly warmer than the average temperature for a region and season.; A sudden or intense surge of heat, whether meteorological or metaphorical, such as a wave of public enthusiasm or excitement.; In oceanography, a marine heatwave refers to a prolonged period of anomalously warm sea surface temperatures in a specific ocean region.

🔗 Details

Word forms

countable Plural: heatwaves

Collocations

heatwave warningsevere heatwaveduring a heatwaveheatwave hitsheatwave killssurvive a heatwave

Synonyms

heat wavehot spellscorcherblisterroaster

Antonyms

cold snapcold wave

Commonly confused

heat wave
EN: 'Heat wave' (two words) is the traditional spelling; 'heatwave' (one word) is an increasingly accepted variant, especially in British English.

Spelling tips

EN: Both 'heatwave' (one word) and 'heat wave' (two words) are acceptable; the one-word form is more common in British English, while the two-word form remains standard in American English.

💬 Examples

  1. The city experienced a devastating heatwave that lasted for over two weeks, breaking all previous temperature records.

  2. A heatwave of nostalgia swept through the audience when the band played their classic hits from the 1980s.

  3. The marine heatwave off the coast of Australia caused widespread coral bleaching on the Great Barrier Reef.