TEMPERATURE

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does temperature mean? 

• TEMPERATURE (noun)
  The noun TEMPERATURE has 2 senses:

1. the degree of hotness or coldness of a body or environment (corresponding to its molecular activity)

2. the somatic sensation of cold or heat

  Familiarity information: TEMPERATURE used as a noun is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• TEMPERATURE (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The degree of hotness or coldness of a body or environment (corresponding to its molecular activity)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Hypernyms ("temperature" is a kind of...):

physical property (any property used to characterize matter and energy and their interactions)

fundamental measure; fundamental quantity (one of the four quantities that are the basis of systems of measurement)

Attribute:

hot (used of physical heat; having a high or higher than desirable temperature or giving off heat or feeling or causing a sensation of heat or burning)

cold (having a low or inadequate temperature or feeling a sensation of coldness or having been made cold by e.g. ice or refrigeration)

warm (having or producing a comfortable and agreeable degree of heat or imparting or maintaining heat)

cool (neither warm nor very cold; giving relief from heat)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "temperature"):

absolute temperature (temperature measured on the absolute scale)

absolute zero ((cryogenics) the lowest temperature theoretically attainable (at which the kinetic energy of atoms and molecules is minimal); 0 Kelvin or -273.15 centigrade or -459.67 Fahrenheit)

Curie point; Curie temperature (the temperature above which a ferromagnetic substance loses its ferromagnetism and becomes paramagnetic)

dew point (the temperature at which the water vapor in the air becomes saturated and condensation begins)

flash point; flashpoint (the lowest temperature at which the vapor of a combustible liquid can be ignited in air)

freezing point; melting point (the temperature below which a liquid turns into a solid)

boil; boiling point (the temperature at which a liquid boils at sea level)

mercury (temperature measured by a mercury thermometer)

room temperature (the normal temperature of room in which people live)

simmer (temperature just below the boiling point)

blood heat; body temperature (temperature of the body; normally 98.6 F or 37 C in humans; usually measured to obtain a quick evaluation of a person's health)

cold; coldness; frigidity; frigidness; low temperature (the absence of heat)

heat; high temperature; hotness (the presence of heat)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The somatic sensation of cold or heat

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Hypernyms ("temperature" is a kind of...):

somaesthesia; somatesthesia; somatic sensation; somesthesia (the perception of tactual or proprioceptive or gut sensations)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "temperature"):

heat; warmth (the sensation caused by heat energy)

cold; coldness (the sensation produced by low temperatures)

comfort zone (the temperature range (between 28 and 30 degrees Centigrade) at which the naked human body is able to maintain a heat balance without shivering or sweating)

 Context examples 

"The temperature is real enough," Messner laughed.

(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)

The standard conditions for temperature and pressure apply.

(Percent Mass per Volume, NCI Thesaurus)

And don't forget what I told you about temperature.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

The temperature dropped to fifty below zero and remained there the whole trip.

(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)

It occurs in persons exposed to cold temperatures.

(Chilblains, NCI Thesaurus)

Hence there is a considerable change both in the temperature and in the vegetation.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

The researchers documented their device working in temperatures that approached 630 degrees Fahrenheit (332 degrees Celsius).

(Harnessing Heat to Power Computers, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

Though astronomers are uncertain of the shape and temperature of coronas, they know that they contain particles that move close to the speed of light.

(NuSTAR sees rare blurring of black hole light, NASA)

This process may be used on objects that cannot withstand high temperatures.

(Ozone Sterilization, NCI Thesaurus)

The papillary dermis has connective tissue and blood vessels that give nutrients to the epidermis (the outer layer of the skin) and that help control the temperature of the skin.

(Papillary dermis, NCI Dictionary)