1 white heat | Definition of white heat

white heat

noun

Definition of white heat

1 : a temperature (as for copper and iron from 1500° to 1600° C) which is higher than red heat and at which a body becomes brightly incandescent
2 : a state of intense mental or physical strain, emotion, or activity

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Examples of white heat in a Sentence

claims that the novel was written at white heat in a tremendous, unbroken burst of creativity

Recent Examples on the Web

One of Parker’s key defenses is a white heat shield that deflects heat. James Rogers, Fox News, "Weird solar science: How NASA's Parker probe will dive through the Sun's atmosphere," 10 Aug. 2018 Narrated by a neurological researcher whose memories of her childhood in Cambodia under the Khmer Rouge start to leak into her present day, this novel is contrapuntal and elegiac in tone, with a white heat beneath. New York Times, "8 New Books We Recommend This Week," 25 Jan. 2018 And just as one starts to wonder what kind of town is one in which there are no children or families, no banks or offices, dusk starts to fall, and the tourists and the white heat of the day retreat. Deborah Needleman, New York Times, "Who Will Save These Dying Italian Towns?," 7 Sep. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'white heat.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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First Known Use of white heat

1664, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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More from Merriam-Webster on white heat

Rhyming Dictionary: Words that rhyme with white heat

Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for white heat