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temperature

n.
US //ˈtɛmpɝətʃɝ// UK //tˈɛmpɹɪtʃɐ// tem·per·a·ture
  1. 1 heat or cold (n.)
    A2 Elementary Science

    a measurement of how hot or cold something is, like the air or water.

    a physical property of matter that expresses hot and cold, typically measured with a thermometer in degrees Celsius or Fahrenheit.

    Example

    The temperature dropped quickly after the sun went down.

    Example

    The laboratory must maintain a constant temperature of twenty degrees to ensure the stability of the chemical samples during the experiment.
  2. 2 a fever (n.)
    A2 Elementary Informal Medicine

    a body heat that is higher than normal because you are ill.

    an elevated body temperature above the normal range, often used as a clinical indicator of infection or illness.

    Example

    The child has a temperature and needs to stay home from school.

    Example

    If the patient develops a temperature exceeding thirty-nine degrees, the nursing staff must administer the prescribed antipyretic medication immediately.
    Pitfall
    I have a high temperature.
    I have a temperature.

    In everyday English, 'to have a temperature' already means your body heat is higher than normal; you do not always need the word 'high'.

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  1. 3 general mood (n.)
    B2 Upper Intermediate Informal

    the general feeling or mood of a group of people or a situation.

    the prevailing mood, attitude, or level of tension within a particular group, situation, or political climate.

    Example

    The manager tried to take the temperature of the room before announcing the bad news.

    Example

    Political analysts are attempting to gauge the temperature of the electorate following the recent controversial policy changes.
  2. 4 AI randomness (n.)
    C1 Advanced Technical Computing

    a setting in computer programs that controls how creative or random the results are.

    a hyperparameter used in machine learning to control the randomness or 'creativity' of a model's output.

    Example

    If you lower the temperature of the AI, its answers become more predictable.

    Example

    Adjusting the temperature to a higher value encourages the language model to generate more diverse and less probable word sequences.

    Usage

    Usually used as a singular noun in technical documentation.
Origin

Borrowed from Latin temperātūra (cf. also French température), from the past participle stem of tempero (“to temper”).

Idioms2 entries

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