• (hot flash) A sudden, intense, hot feeling in the face or upper part of the body, along with rapid heartbeat, sweating, and flushing. A symptom of menopause.
  Harvard Dictionary of Health Terms
  Harvard Medical Publishing, 2011
• (hot flash) A sudden, temporary onset of body warmth, flushing, and sweating (often associated with menopause).
  NCI Dictionary of Cancer Terms
  U.S. National Cancer Institute, 2021
• (hot flash) Sudden, temporary sensation of heat predominantly experienced by women during menopause, and as a side effect of some hormone therapies.
  CRISP Thesaurus
  National Institutes of Health, 2006
• (hot flashes) A sudden, temporary sensation of heat predominantly experienced by some women during MENOPAUSE. (Random House Unabridged Dictionary, 2d ed)
  NLM Medical Subject Headings
  U.S. National Library of Medicine, 2025
• (hot flashes) A temporary feeling of intense body warmth, flushing, sometimes accompanied by sweating. A common, symptom of menopause; other conditions that can produce hot flushes include antidepressants and drugs blocking the effect of estrogens, carcinoid tumors and a sensitivity to sulfites or other food additives.
  NCI
  U.S. National Cancer Institute, 2021
• (hot flashes) Sudden feelings of warmth that are generally most pronounced over the face, neck and chest.
  Human Phenotype Ontology (HPO)
  The Human Phenotype Ontology Project, 2025
• (hot flashes/flushes) A temporary and/or sudden feeling of intense body warmth, flushing, sometimes accompanied by sweating.
  U.S. FDA Glossary
  U.S. Food & Drug Administration, 2021
• (hot flashes) A disorder characterized by an uncomfortable and temporary sensation of intense body warmth, flushing, sometimes accompanied by sweating upon cooling.
  Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events
  U.S. National Institutes of Health, 2021
• A hot flash is the sudden feeling of warmth in the upper body, which is usually most intense over the face, neck and chest. Your skin might redden, as if you're blushing. A hot flash can also cause sweating. If you lose too much body heat, you might feel chilled afterward. Night sweats are hot flashes that happen at night, and they may...
  Mayo Clinic
  Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 2025
• Hot flash, symptom of declining estrogen levels associated with menopause that is characterized by a sensation of warmth of the face and upper body, flushing of the skin, sweating, tachycardia (accelerated heart rate), irritability, and headache. A hot flash typically lasts for a few minutes and...
  Encyclopedia Britannica
  Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc., 2025