heater

/'hi:tə/

Thân thiện

A pitcher throws a heater for a strike.

Definition

Noun: 1. A device that produces heat: An appliance or piece of equipment designed to raise the temperature of a space, a liquid, or an object. This is the most common meaning. 2. A fastball in baseball: (Slang, sports) A pitch, typically a fastball, thrown with very high velocity.

Usage and Examples

• As a device for warmth or heating:
  • We turned on the heater because the room was very cold.
  • The water heater in my house broke, so I had to take a cold shower.
  • She placed a small space heater under her desk.
• As a term for a fast pitch in baseball:
  • The pitcher's best heater was clocked at 98 miles per hour.
  • He struck out the batter with a high heater.

Advanced Usage

• "To be on the heater": (Informal, from sports/gambling) To be experiencing a period of exceptional success or hot streak.
  • After winning five games in a row, that poker player is really on the heater.
• The term can be used metaphorically to describe anything that generates intense energy, excitement, or output, though this is less common.
  • That new electric guitar is a real tone heater. (Informal)

Variants and Related Words

• Heat (verb/noun): The energy transferred or the sensation of warmth. To make something hot.
• Heating (noun): The system or process of making something warm.
• Water heater (noun phrase): A specific appliance for heating domestic water.
• Space heater (noun phrase): A portable device for heating a single room or small area.

Synonyms

• For the device: Warmer, furnace, boiler, radiator.
• For the baseball pitch: Fastball, smoke (slang), heat (slang).

Idioms and Fixed Phrases

• "Turn up the heat": While not containing "heater," this related idiom means to increase pressure or intensity in a situation.
  • The prosecutor really turned up the heat during the cross-examination.
• "In the heater": (Baseball slang) Refers to a pitch that is thrown with maximum velocity, directly in the "heating" or power zone of the pitcher's ability.
  • He reached back and threw it right in the heater.

Học thuật

Noun

1. (baseball) a pitch thrown with maximum velocity
   • he swung late on the fastball
   • he showed batters nothing but smoke
2. device that heats water or supplies warmth to a room

Từ đồng nghĩa

• fastball
• smoke
• hummer
• bullet
• warmer