in heat
Ready to mate
In heat describes a female mammal during the fertile period of her reproductive cycle, when she is receptive to mating: The cat is in heat again.
The phrase evokes the urgency and restlessness animals display during this time.
Applied to humans, it suggests someone overwhelmed by sexual desire, usually used mockingly or dismissively: He's acting like a teenager in heat.
breeding
Reproductive cultivation of organisms
- pheromonesSpecies-specific chemical messengers
- ovulationEgg discharge from ovary
- cycleRepeating sequence of events
receptive · seasonal · mounting · lordosis · swelling · vulva · calling · flagging · restless · vocalization
courtship
Seeking another's romantic favor
- copulationSexual joining of bodies
- breedingReproductive cultivation of organisms
- mountingSteadily increasing in degree
pairing · mate · bonding · sire · dam · stud · tie · knotting · receptive · cover