hot
Americanadjective
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having or giving off heat; having a high temperature.
a hot fire;
hot coffee.
- Antonyms:
- cold
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having or causing a sensation of great bodily heat; attended with or producing such a sensation.
He was hot with fever.
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creating a burning sensation, as on the skin or in the throat.
This ointment is hot, so apply it sparingly.
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sharply peppery or pungent.
Is this mustard hot?
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having or showing intense or violent feeling; ardent; fervent; vehement; excited.
a hot temper.
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Informal. having a strong enthusiasm; eager.
a hot baseball fan.
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Slang.
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sexually aroused; lustful.
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sexy; attractive.
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violent, furious, or intense.
the hottest battle of the war.
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strong or fresh, as a scent or trail.
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absolutely new; fresh.
a dozen new mystery stories hot from the press.
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requiring immediate delivery or correspondence; demanding priority.
The hot freight must be delivered by 10:00 a.m. tomorrow, or we'll lose the contract.
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Slang. skillful in a reckless or daring way.
a hot pilot.
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following very closely; close.
to be hot on the trail of a thief.
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(of colors) extremely intense.
hot pink.
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Informal. popular and commercially successful; in demand; marketable.
The Beatles were a hot group in the 1960s.
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Slang. extremely lucky, good, or favorable.
A poker player has to have a hot hand to win the pot.
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Slang. (in sports and games) playing well or winningly; scoring effectively.
a hot pitcher.
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Slang. funny; absurd.
That's a hot one!
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Games. close to the object or answer that is being sought.
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Informal. extremely exciting or interesting; sensational or scandalous.
a hot news story.
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Jazz.
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(of music) emotionally intense, propulsive, and marked by aggressive attack and warm, full tone.
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(of a musician) skilled in playing hot jazz.
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Informal. (of a vehicle) capable of attaining extremely high speeds.
a hot new jet plane.
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Slang.
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Informal. in the mood to perform exceedingly well, or rapidly, as during a burst of creative work.
Finish writing that story while you're still hot.
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actively conducting an electric current or containing a high voltage.
a hot wire.
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of, relating to, or noting radioactivity.
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Metalworking. noting any process involving plastic deformation of a metal at a temperature high enough to permit recrystallization due to the strain.
hot working.
adverb
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in a hot manner; hotly.
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while hot.
Garnish the potatoes with parsley and serve hot.
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Metalworking. at a temperature high enough to permit recrystallization.
The wire was drawn hot.
verb (used with or without object)
noun
idioms
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hot under the collar. collar.
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get hot, (in sports and games) to become very effective or successful; score or win repeatedly or easily.
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make it hot for, to make something unpleasant for; cause trouble for.
Ever since their argument the principal has been making it hot for the new teacher.
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hot and bothered, excited, aroused, or flustered: Also all hot and bothered.
This mistake isn't worth getting hot and bothered about.
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hot and heavy, in an intense, vehement, or passionate manner.
They argued hot and heavy for 20 minutes.
adjective
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having a relatively high temperature
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having a temperature higher than desirable
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causing or having a sensation of bodily heat
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causing a burning sensation on the tongue
hot mustard
a hot curry
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expressing or feeling intense emotion, such as embarrassment, anger, or lust
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intense or vehement
a hot argument
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recent; fresh; new
a hot trial
hot from the press
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ball games (of a ball) thrown or struck hard, and so difficult to respond to
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much favoured or approved
a hot tip
a hot favourite
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informal having a dangerously high level of radioactivity
a hot laboratory
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slang (of goods or money) stolen, smuggled, or otherwise illegally obtained
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slang (of people) being sought by the police
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informal sexually attractive
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(of a colour) intense; striking
hot pink
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close or following closely
hot on the scent
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informal at a dangerously high electric potential
a hot terminal
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physics having an energy level higher than that of the ground state
a hot atom
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slang impressive or good of its kind (esp in the phrase not so hot )
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slang jazz arousing great excitement or enthusiasm by inspired improvisation, strong rhythms, etc
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informal dangerous or unpleasant (esp in the phrase make it hot for someone )
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(in various searching or guessing games) very near the answer or object to be found
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metallurgy (of a process) at a sufficiently high temperature for metal to be in a soft workable state
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informal (of a price, charge, etc) excessive
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to punish or thrash someone
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informal
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very severe
the police are hot on drunk drivers
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particularly skilled at or knowledgeable about
he's hot on vintage cars
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informal aroused with anger, annoyance, etc
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informal in trouble, esp with those in authority
adverb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of hot
First recorded before 1000; 1920–25 hot for def. 23; Middle English ho(o)t, Old English hāt; cognate with Dutch heet, Old Norse heitr, Swedish het, Danish hed, German heiss
Explanation
Hot is the opposite of cold. This could mean a hot day in July, a baseball team on a hot streak, or a hot bikini model. Most meanings of hot have to do with heat: what makes us sweat. A stove can be red hot. Spicy food is hot, and newspapers used to be "hot off the presses" because the printing process actually warmed the paper. New things are often referred to as hot — like a hot new band. Stolen property is also called hot because you can't hold onto it too long or it will burn you — though perhaps not in the usual way.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
“I relied a lot on feedback from my editor and from my book agents saying ‘this is hot; this is not.’”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 13, 2026
England had to endure hot and humid conditions in Miami in getting past Norway but they have little recovery time before the semi-final after a gruelling game that lasted 122 minutes.
From BBC ● Jul. 12, 2026
A brilliant cameo from Aniston promoting her new cookbook, with such adventurous epicurean dishes as “boiled hot dogs and peas,” serves as the film’s inciting event.
From Salon ● Jul. 12, 2026
If you’re a lover of hot dogs, it’s probably been a pretty terrifying couple of years.
From Slate ● Jul. 12, 2026
Soon enough, she is propped in bed with pillows and a breakfast tray with hot coffee, warm toast, and grapefruit.
From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly
While London's heatwaves may be getting hotter, some traditions remain unchanged.
From BBC ● Jul. 12, 2026
While two of England's group-stage matches were played in the hotter Texas and Georgia climates, they felt the benefit of air-conditioned stadiums, where the temperature is set to a comfortable 21C.
From BBC ● Jul. 11, 2026
BMW cut its full-year outlook last month, citing hotter competition in China and conflict in the Middle East.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026
At the same time, a strengthening El Niño is emerging as a major demand risk, with hotter weather and weaker hydroelectric generation expected to lift LNG consumption across Asia just as Gulf supply remains restricted.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 6, 2026
As if that cast couldn’t make his foot any hotter in August, I had to wrap it in plastic.
From "The Line Tender" by Kate Allen
On Sunday, the hottest day, the mercury was expected to reach between 100F and 110F in several northern states including Montana and North Dakota.
From Barron's ● Jul. 11, 2026
America doesn’t have a monopoly on the world’s hottest stocks, but it does have the deepest-pocketed investors.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026
One of the world’s hottest stocks comes to Wall Street today.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 10, 2026
Wales also recorded its hottest June day with 35.9C in Cardiff, while Northern Ireland equalled its June record with 30.8C in Castlederg, County Tyrone.
From BBC ● Jul. 9, 2026
And then I wash my hands for a minimum of 2 minutes in the hottest water available.
From "The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl" by Stacy McAnulty
As debate hotted up, one Twitter user provided a sympathetic look at life from the view of an empty seat with @OlympicSeat, whose profile reads: "I feel nothing but emptiness."
From Reuters ● Aug. 12, 2012
Strong colors from cobalt blue to mixes of fuchsia and orange hotted up the show.
From New York Times ● Jun. 21, 2011
Capital immediately rejected the idea and said it would press on, and today the war of words hotted up.
From The Guardian ● Dec. 8, 2010
The race really hotted up on the penultimate lap when Heikki Kovalainen's Lotus burst into flames.
From The Guardian ● Sep. 26, 2010
"He was more particular in his manner to-night than hever," said the butler, as he dismembered a duck which had been "hotted up" after removal from the dining-room.
From Vixen, Volume II. by Braddon, M. E. (Mary Elizabeth)
Behind the top three, the battle for a place in next season's Champions League is hotting up as Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United all secured important wins.
From Barron's ● Feb. 1, 2026
West Brom travel to the capital to face QPR with the race to the Championship play-offs hotting up.
From BBC ● Mar. 5, 2024
Trends in single-family homes are more of what we’ve been seeing for the past months: Markets in outlying counties keep hotting up as King County keeps slowing down.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 5, 2019
With the big night just three days away, speculation is hotting up as to who will win.
From BBC ● May 12, 2016
I thought things were hotting up a bit there.' i'm very sorry, sir.
From "The Remains of the Day" by Kazuo Ishiguro
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
