How is heat different from temperature?

In physics, it is important to distinguish between heat and temperature, as they are fundamentally different concepts.1

Heat is energy in transit; it is the energy transferred between bodies due to a difference in temperature. Because it is energy being transferred, it is incorrect to describe an object as "containing" heat; rather, heat flows from a hotter body to a colder one until they reach thermal equilibrium.12

Temperature, by contrast, is an intensive property that measures the hotness or coldness of a body. It indicates the direction in which heat will spontaneously flow. While heat is a form of energy, temperature is a measure related to the average kinetic energy of the particles within a system.23

The distinction is best illustrated by scale: a small object at a high temperature (like a burning match) has a higher temperature than a large object at a lower temperature (like an iceberg), yet the iceberg contains a much greater total amount of thermal energy.2