kuumutama

Kuumutama is an Estonian verb meaning "to heat" or "to warm (up)". It is derived from the adjective kuum, "hot," with the verbalizing suffix -tama, and denotes the action of raising temperature of a substance, object or space.

As a typically transitive verb, kuumutama is used with a direct object that receives heat (for example, kuumutama vett — to heat water). It appears in everyday contexts such as cooking and household tasks, as well as technical fields like metallurgy, HVAC and industrial processing. The related noun kuumutamine refers to the process of heating.

The verb follows regular patterns of Estonian -ma verbs in conjugation. A common present-tense example is Ta kuumutab suppi ("He/she is heating the soup"). Passive and infinitive forms are used in instructions and impersonal statements, for instance, Vett tuleb kuumutada ("The water must be heated").

Kuumutama has cognates in other Finnic languages; Finnish kuumentaa carries a similar meaning and structure. The term may be combined with modifiers to indicate methods or degrees of heating (e.g., aeglaselt kuumutama — to heat slowly; tugevalt kuumutama — to heat strongly).

Pronunciation approximation: /ˈkuːmutɑmɑ/. The verb is common in both colloquial and formal registers wherever the action of applying heat is described.