Definition

Verb (intransitive and transitive): 1. To become more intense, active, or exciting: To increase in pace, intensity, or level of activity. 2. To become hotter: To increase in temperature.

Usage and Examples

• Intransitive Verb (to become more intense):
  • The competition is really hotting up as we approach the finals.
  • Things hotted up at the meeting when the budget was discussed.
• Intransitive Verb (to become hotter):
  • Wait for the engine to hot up before you start driving.
  • The debate hotted up after the controversial statement. (Note: This example uses the word figuratively, comparing the intensity of the debate to increasing heat.)
• Transitive Verb (to make more intense or powerful):
  • The band hotted up the classic song with a faster tempo.
  • He hotted up the car's engine for better performance.

Advanced Usage Notes

• "Hot up" is more common in British English. In American English, "heat up" is generally preferred for both the literal (temperature) and figurative (intensity) meanings.
• It is often used in informal contexts, particularly in journalism or spoken English, to describe situations becoming more lively or contentious.

Variants and Related Words

• Heat up (verb): The more common, neutral synonym in all varieties of English.
• Intensify (verb): A more formal synonym for the figurative meaning.
• Screw up (verb - emotional intensity): To make emotions more intense or agitated (as in the reference context: "Emotions were screwed up"). This is a distinct phrasal verb with a different core meaning related to increasing tension or making a mistake.
• Soup up (verb): To modify something (especially a car engine) to make it more powerful (as in the reference context: "he souped up the old cars"). This is a distinct informal phrasal verb.

Synonyms

• For "become/make more intense": intensify, escalate, increase, accelerate, liven up.
• For "become/make hotter": warm up, heat up.

Antonyms

• For "become/make more intense": cool down, subside, de-escalate, calm down.
• For "become/make hotter": cool down, chill.

Related Phrasal Verbs

• Warm up: To prepare for an activity by doing gentle exercises or practice; to become more friendly or enthusiastic.
  • The athletes warm up before the race. / The audience took a while to warm up to the new speaker.
• Heat up: See "Variants and Related Words" above.

Verb

1. make more powerful
   • he souped up the old cars
2. make more intense
   • Emotions were screwed up
3. gain heat or get hot
   • The room heated up quickly