hot spot

¹

Or hot·spot

[hot-spot]

noun

1. a country or region where dangerous or difficult political situations exist or may erupt, especially where a war, revolution, or a belligerent attitude toward other countries exists or may develop.

   In the 1960s, Vietnam became a hot spot.

2. Informal.,  any area or place of known danger, intrigue, dissension, or instability.

3. Informal.,  a nightclub.

4. Photography.,  an area of a negative or print revealing excessive light on that part of the subject.

5. a section of forest or woods where fires frequently occur.

6. an area hotter than the surrounding surface, as on the shell of a furnace.

7. Digital Technology.,  a place where users of portable computers or mobile devices can get wireless broadband access to the internet or another network.

   how to find free Wi-Fi hot spots.

8. Physics.,  an area of abnormally high radioactivity.

9. Geology.,  a region of molten rock below and within the lithosphere that persists long enough to leave a record of uplift and volcanic activity at the earth's surface.

10. Genetics.,  a chromosome site or a section of DNA having a high frequency of mutation or recombination.

11. Veterinary Pathology.,  a moist, raw sore on the skin of a dog or cat caused by constant licking of an irritation from an allergic reaction, tangled coat, fleas, etc.

hot-spot

²

[hot-spot]

verb (used with object)

hot-spotted, hot-spotting 

1. to stop (a forest fire) at a hot spot.

hot spot

noun

1. an area of potential violence or political unrest

2. a lively nightclub or other place of entertainment

3. an area of great activity of a specific type

   the world's economic hot spots

4. 1. any local area of high temperature in a part of an engine, etc

   2. part of the inlet manifold of a paraffin engine that is heated by exhaust gases to vaporize the fuel

5. computing a place where wireless internet, esp broadband, services are provided to users of portable computers through a wireless local area network, such as in an airport, railway station, or library

6. med

   1. a small area on the surface of or within a body with an exceptionally high concentration of radioactivity or of some chemical or mineral considered harmful

   2. a similar area that generates an abnormal amount of heat, as revealed by thermography

7. genetics a part of a chromosome that has a tendency for mutation or recombination

hot spot

1. A volcanic area that forms as a tectonic plate moves over a point heated from deep within the Earth's mantle. The source of the heat is thought to be the decay of radioactive elements. The Hawaiian Islands formed as a series of hot spots.

2. See more at tectonic boundary

hot spot

1. A place deep within the Earth where hot magma rises to just underneath the surface, creating a bulge and volcanic activity (see volcano). The chain of Hawaiian Islands (see Hawaii) is thought to have been created by the movement of a tectonic plate over a hot spot.

Word History and Origins

Origin of hot spot¹

An Americanism dating back to 1925–30

Origin of hot spot²

First recorded in 1950–55; v. use of hot spot