temperature
Definition
noun
- the heat of the body or of the surrounding air, measured in degreesExamples The doctor asked the nurse what the patient’s temperature was. • His temperature was slightly above normal. • The thermometer showed a temperature of 99°F.Usage to take a patient’s temperatureto insert a thermometer in someone’s body to see what his or her body temperature isExamples They took his temperature every four hours. • When her temperature was taken this morning, it was normal.
- illness when your body is hotter than normalExamples He’s in bed with a temperature. • Her mother says she’s got a temperature, and can’t come to work.
COMMENT The average body temperature is about 37° Celsius or 98° Fahrenheit. This temperature may vary during the day, and can rise if a person has taken a hot bath or had a hot drink. If the environmental temperature is high, the body has to sweat to reduce the heat gained from the air around it. If the outside temperature is low, the body shivers, because rapid movement of the muscles generates heat. A fever will cause the body temperature to rise sharply, to 40° C (103°F) or more. Hypothermia exists when the body temperature falls below about 35° C (95°F).