hot dog
noun
a frankfurter.
hot dog
1 American
[hot dawg, hot dawg]
/ ˈhɒt ˌdɔg, ˈhɒt ˈdɔg /
noun
-
hot dogs
plural
-
a frankfurter.
-
a sandwich consisting of a frankfurter in a split roll, usually eaten with mustard, sauerkraut, or relish.
-
Informal. Also hotdog, hot dogger, hotdogger, hot-dogger
-
a person who performs complex, showy, and sometimes dangerous maneuvers, especially in surfing or skiing.
-
a show-off, especially in sports.
-
interjection
hot-dog
2
American
[hot-dawg, -dog]
/ ˈhɒtˌdɔg, -ˌdɒg /
Or
hotdog
verb (used without object)
hot-dogged,
hot-dogging
-
to perform unusual or very intricate maneuvers in a sport, especially surfing or skiing.
-
to perform in a recklessly or flamboyantly skillful manner, as in a sport or athletic activity; show off.
adjective
-
skillful or excellent, as in sports performance.
-
of, indicating, or for a type of sports activity, especially surfing or skiing, in which intricate and potentially dangerous stunts are performed.
-
intended or done to draw attention; showy or sensational.
hot dog
1
British
noun
verb
hot dog
2
British
noun
hot dog
Idioms
-
A person who performs showy, often dangerous stunts, especially but not exclusively in sports; also, a showoff. For example, He was a shameless hot dog on the tennis court, smashing every ball , or She was a hot dog behind the wheel, screeching her wheels at every turn . The relation of this term to the edible hot dog is unknown. [ Colloquial ; c. 1900]
-
Also, hot diggety dog ; hot diggety . An interjection expressing delight or enthusiasm, as in Hot dog! What a great gift , or Hot diggety! We got the best concert tickets after all . [ Slang ; c. 1900]
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of hot dog1
An Americanism dating back to 1895–1900
Origin of hot-dog2
First recorded in 1880–85
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:
Price for a caviar hot dog known as the Golden Glizzy, which features crème fraîche, mascarpone, 30 grams of Ossetra caviar and 24-karat edible gold flakes served on a fresh-baked croissant bun.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
The dish, which brings an opulent touch to an otherwise everyman food, is one of several hot dog towers now being served in private suites at stadiums and at high-end taverns.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026
Seigel said he has been interested in revitalizing the hot dog stand brand for years and jumped at the chance to take it over.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2026
David Barham founded the hot dog icon 80 years ago when he opened a food stand called Party Puffs on Muscle Beach.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2026
“Be honest with me, did you get mugged by a hot dog or something?”
From "Popcorn" by Rob Harrell
At least three approaches were made to buy the brand, which is as ubiquitous to upper-class larders as French’s mustard is to New York hot-dog stands.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 1, 2026
So the question now is: Will Costco be raising the price of the hot-dog meal?
From Salon ● Jul. 29, 2025
If you are a hot-dog driver, and if you can cut the mustard, you could be behind the wheel of the Wienermobile.
From Slate ● Jan. 12, 2024
Prigozhin started out as a St Petersburg hot-dog salesman, but by the mid-1990s he had opened a restaurant.
From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2023
This mother of mine, she stops at another hot-dog vendor’s and buys a frankfurter that she eats on the street.
From "Krik? Krak!" by Edwidge Danticat
Mr. Walsh began his career in 1961 at The St. Louis Globe-Democrat, where he hot-dogged around the newsroom smoking cigars and used the floor as his ashtray.
From New York Times ● Apr. 19, 2024
The crowning moment this time was DeSean Jackson’s punt return touchdown as time expired, which would have been more enjoyable for non-Eagles fans had he not hot-dogged it along the goal line.
From New York Times ● Dec. 20, 2010
In that match, Gaël Monfils hot-dogged his way to a lopsided victory that made Roddick’s first trip to the second week at Roland Garros seem like a booby prize.
From New York Times ● May 28, 2010
Remember Lindsey Jacobellis, the American who was yards from a gold before she hot-dogged it off a ramp and fell?
From Time Magazine Archive
But on the second- to-last jump she hot-dogged it, clutching the rail of her board in mid-air, and botched the landing so badly she fell and got silver instead.
From Time Magazine Archive
For all his amiable composure, Ding has indulged in some hot-dogging.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 21, 2026
Toto’s high-gloss only-in-L.A. aesthetic didn’t age well into the ’90s and early 2000s, when rock went grungy then garage-y; even in Toto’s heyday, critics dismissed the band as hot-dogging technicians.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 31, 2024
Combine the competitive edge of Crystal’s alpine racing culture with its hot-dogging heritage and what do you get?
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 1, 2023
He had a flair — some would call it a flair for hot-dogging — but he always backed his postgame act with his play.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 23, 2021
I remember laughing at her hot-dogging and losing the gold medal in the process.
From New York Times ● Feb. 14, 2018
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.
