fever pitch

noun

: a state of intense excitement and agitation

Examples of fever pitch in a Sentence

I worked myself up to a fever pitch of enthusiasm. New allegations brought interest in the scandal to a fever pitch. Demand for the new car soon reached fever pitch.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Anticipation for Grand Theft Auto VI reached a fever pitch in August when developer Rockstar Games finally released a first look at gameplay. — Justin Klawans, TheWeek, 2 Sep. 2026 Expectations for the Texas Longhorns football program have reached a fever pitch, with star quarterback Arch Manning heading into his second year as the starting quarterback. — Ian Miller Outkick, FOXNews.com, 31 Aug. 2026 Earlier this summer, speculation regarding Ariana Grande’s weight and body image reached a fever pitch after the singer announced her retreat from public life following the ending of her ongoing tour next week. — José Criales-Unzueta, Vanity Fair, 27 Aug. 2026 Those fears reached a fever pitch last week before, and after, the Treasury Department's unusual step of increasing debt buybacks under Secretary Scott Bessent. — Alex Harring, CNBC, 25 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for fever pitch

Word History

First Known Use

1837, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of fever pitch was in 1837

Rhymes for fever pitch

See All Rhymes for fever pitch

Browse Nearby Words

feverous
fever pitch
fever plant
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Fever pitch.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fever%20pitch. Accessed 4 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of apiary

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

A List of Most Commonly Confused Words

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

Stay Woke

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Words of the Week - Sept. 4
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

The Longest Long Words List

Stay Woke
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
anagrams on a chalk board
Word Builder Quiz Vol. 2 Pick the letter that when added to a word will ma...
See All