Preliminary round (4)
I believe the answer is:
heat
<span class="explanation-format__ClueExplanation">'<span class="explanation-format__original">preliminary round</span>' is the definition.<br/ ><span class="explanation-format__explanation">(I've seen this before)</span><br/ ><br/ >This is the entire clue.<br/ ></span>
(Other definitions for heat that I've seen before include "Hotness" , "Toast" , "Level of spice" , "brings out a sweat?" , "Apply warmth" .)