heat exhaustion

American

noun

a condition characterized by faintness, rapid pulse, nausea, profuse sweating, cool skin, and collapse, caused by prolonged exposure to heat accompanied by loss of adequate fluid and salt from the body.

heat exhaustion British

noun

Also called: heat prostration. a condition resulting from exposure to intense heat, characterized by dizziness, abdominal cramp, and prostration Compare heatstroke

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of heat exhaustion

First recorded in 1935–40

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Experts speculated that dry-lot cows can’t sweat as freely as free-range cows, and that weather and feedlot conditions contributed to deadly heat exhaustion.

From Los Angeles Times

"It can cause potentially fatal health problems such as heat exhaustion and heat stroke but it can also trigger events like heart attacks or stroke."

From BBC

Israeli media reported that the incident could have been connected to the daycare's heating system, suggesting heat exhaustion and dehydration as possible causes.

From Barron's

Brazilian Piquet struggled with heat exhaustion in the final stages but was able to come home fifth, giving him the two points he needed to overtake Reutemann, with Laffite in sixth.

From BBC

“The biggest threat to safety at every protest I’ve ever been at — unless law enforcement gets involved — is always dehydration and heat exhaustion,” Dunn said.

From Los Angeles Times

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023