hot up
Học thuậtThân thiện
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
- make more powerful
- he souped up the old cars
- make more intense
- Emotions were screwed up
- gain heat or get hot
- The room heated up quickly