v.1. To become hotter: As stars heat up, they expend more energy.
2. To cause something to become hotter: He heated the water up on the stove. She heated up the pizza in the microwave.
3. To become acute or intense: The baseball game heated up in the last inning.
4. Slang To make someone angry: That incompetent umpire really heated me up. The newscaster's outlandish comments heated up the audience.