2 N‑UNCOUNT Heating is the system and equipment that is used to heat a building. □ I wish I knew how to turn on the heating.
3 → see also central heating
hea t stroke also heatstroke N‑UNCOUNT Heat stroke is the same as sunstroke .
heat|wave /hiː twe I v/ (heatwaves ) also heat wave N‑COUNT A heatwave is a period of time during which the weather is much hotter than usual.
heave /hiː v/ (heaves , heaving , heaved )
1 VERB If you heave something heavy or difficult to move somewhere, you push, pull, or lift it using a lot of effort. □ [V n prep/adv] It took five strong men to heave the statue up a ramp and lower it into place. ● N‑COUNT Heave is also a noun. □ It took only one heave to hurl him into the river.
2 VERB If something heaves , it moves up and down with large regular movements. □ [V ] His chest heaved, and he took a deep breath.
3 VERB If you heave , or if your stomach heaves , you vomit or feel sick. □ [V ] My stomach heaved and I felt sick.
4 VERB If you heave a sigh , you give a big sigh. □ [V n] Mr Collier heaved a sigh and got to his feet.
5 VERB [usu cont] If a place is heaving or if it is heaving with people, it is full of people. [mainly BRIT , INFORMAL ] □ [V ] The Happy Bunny club was heaving. □ [V + with ] Father Auberon's Academy Club positively heaved with dashing young men.
6 to heave a sigh of relief → see sigh
heav|en ◆◇◇ /he vən/ (heavens )
1 N‑PROPER In some religions, heaven is said to be the place where God lives, where good people go when they die, and where everyone is always happy. It is usually imagined as being high up in the sky.
2 N‑UNCOUNT You can use heaven to refer to a place or situation that you like very much. [INFORMAL ] □ We went touring in Wales and Ireland. It was heaven.
3 N‑PLURAL The heavens are the sky. [OLD-FASHIONED ] □ He walked out into the middle of the road, looking up at the heavens.
4 → see also seventh heaven
5 PHRASE You say ' Heaven forbid! ' to emphasize that you very much hope that something will not happen. [SPOKEN , EMPHASIS ] □ Heaven forbid that he should leave because of me!
6 EXCLAM You say ' Good heavens! ' or ' Heavens! ' to express surprise or to emphasize that you agree or disagree with someone. [SPOKEN , FEELINGS ] □ Good Heavens! That explains a lot!
7 PHRASE You say ' Heaven help someone' when you are worried that something bad is going to happen to them, often because you disapprove of what they are doing or the way they are behaving. [SPOKEN , DISAPPROVAL ] □ If this makes sense to our leaders, then heaven help us all.
8 PHRASE You can say ' Heaven knows ' to emphasize that you do not know something, or that you find something very surprising. [SPOKEN , EMPHASIS ] □ Heaven knows what they put in it.
9 PHRASE You can say ' Heaven knows ' to emphasize something that you feel or believe very strongly. [SPOKEN , EMPHASIS ] □ Heaven knows they have enough money.
10 PHRASE If the heavens open , it suddenly starts raining very heavily. □ The match had just begun when the heavens opened and play was suspended.
11 for heaven's sake → see sake
12 thank heavens → see thank
heav|en|ly /he vənli/
1 ADJ [usu ADJ n] Heavenly things are things that are connected with the religious idea of heaven. □ …heavenly beings whose function it is to serve God.
2 ADJ Something that is heavenly is very pleasant and enjoyable. [INFORMAL ] □ The idea of spending two weeks with him may seem heavenly.
hea v|en|ly bo dy (heavenly bodies ) N‑COUNT A heavenly body is a planet, star, moon, or other natural object in space.
hea ven-se nt also heaven sent ADJ [usu ADJ n] You use heaven-sent to describe something such as an opportunity which is unexpected, but which is very welcome because it occurs at just the right time. □ It will be a heaven-sent opportunity to prove himself.
heav|en|ward /he v ə nwə r d/ also heavenwards ADV [ADV after v] Heavenward means towards the sky or to heaven. [WRITTEN ] □ He rolled his eyes heavenward in disgust.
heavi|ly /he v I li/
1 ADV [ADV after v] If someone says something heavily , they say it in a slow way which shows a feeling such as sadness, tiredness, or annoyance. □ 'I didn't even think about her,' he said heavily.
2 → see also heavy
heavy ◆◆◇ /he vi/ (heavier , heaviest , heavies )
1 ADJ Something that is heavy weighs a lot. □ These scissors are awfully heavy. □ The mud stuck to her boots, making her feet heavy and her legs tired. ● heavi|ness N‑UNCOUNT □ …a sensation of warmth and heaviness in the muscles.
2 ADJ [as ADJ as ] You use heavy to ask or talk about how much someone or something weighs. □ How heavy are you? □ Protons are nearly 2000 times as heavy as electrons.
3 ADJ [usu ADJ n] Heavy means great in amount, degree, or intensity. □ Heavy fighting has been going on. □ He worried about her heavy drinking. □ The traffic along Fitzjohn's Avenue was heavy. ● heavi|ly ADV [ADV after v, ADV -ed/adj] □ It has been raining heavily all day. ● heavi|ness N‑UNCOUNT □ …the heaviness of the blood loss.