# temperature

/ˈtɛmpɝətʃɝ/ (US) · /tˈɛmpɹɪtʃɐ/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/temperature
Updated: 2026-06-19

## Senses

### 1. heat or cold

noun · CEFR A2

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

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

- The temperature dropped quickly after the sun went down.
- The laboratory must maintain a constant temperature of twenty degrees to ensure the stability of the chemical samples during the experiment.

### 2. a fever

noun · CEFR A2 · Informal

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

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

- The child has a temperature and needs to stay home from school.
- If the patient develops a temperature exceeding thirty-nine degrees, the nursing staff must administer the prescribed antipyretic medication immediately.

### 3. general mood

noun · CEFR B2 · Informal

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

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

- The manager tried to take the temperature of the room before announcing the bad news.
- Political analysts are attempting to gauge the temperature of the electorate following the recent controversial policy changes.

### 4. AI randomness

noun · CEFR C1 · Technical

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

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

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

## Examples

- The temperature outside is dropping fast tonight.
- The recipe requires the oven to reach a specific temperature before you put the cake in to bake.
- Global ocean temperatures have risen steadily over the past century, fundamentally altering marine ecosystems and accelerating the melting of polar ice caps.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.