temperature
/ˈtem.p(ə.)ɹə.t͡ʃə/
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.64 in modern English
15
Scrabble Score
11
Letters
4
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A property of macroscopic amounts of matter that serves to gauge the average intensity of the random actual motions of the individually mobile particulate constituents.
Countable; Uncountable
noun
The balance of humours in the body, or one's character or outlook as considered determined from this; temperament.
Archaic; Countable; Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "The boiling temperature of pure water is 100 degrees Celsius."
- "The temperature in the room dropped nearly 20 degrees; it went from hot to cold."
- "The most accurate way to take your temperature is by sticking a thermometer up your butt."
- "Of all the transitions brought about on the Earth’s surface by temperature change, the melting of ice into water is the starkest. It is binary. And for the land beneath, the air above and the life around, it changes everything."
- "The opposite issue emerges in the summer when students face scorching temperatures with unreliable or nonexistent air conditioning."
- "You have a temperature. I think you should stay home today. You’re sick."
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin temperātūra (cf. also French température), from the past participle stem of tempero (“to temper”).
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈtem.p(ə.)ɹə.t͡ʃə/
- British English: /ˈtɛm.p(ə.)ɹə.t͡ʃə/