hot

[ hot ]

/ hɒt /

adjective, hot·ter, hot·test.

having or giving off heat; having a high temperature: a hot fire; hot coffee.

having or causing a sensation of great bodily heat; attended with or producing such a sensation: He was hot with fever.

creating a burning sensation, as on the skin or in the throat: This ointment is hot, so apply it sparingly.

sharply peppery or pungent: Is this mustard hot?

having or showing intense or violent feeling; ardent; fervent; vehement; excited: a hot temper.

Informal. having a strong enthusiasm; eager: a hot baseball fan.

Slang.

sexually aroused; lustful.
sexy; attractive.

violent, furious, or intense: the hottest battle of the war.

strong or fresh, as a scent or trail.

absolutely new; fresh: a dozen new mystery stories hot from the press.

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.

Slang. skillful in a reckless or daring way: a hot pilot.

following very closely; close: to be hot on the trail of a thief.

(of colors) extremely intense: hot pink.

Informal. popular and commercially successful; in demand; marketable: The Beatles were a hot group in the 1960s.

Slang. extremely lucky, good, or favorable: A poker player has to have a hot hand to win the pot.

Slang. (in sports and games) playing well or winningly; scoring effectively: a hot pitcher.

Slang. funny; absurd: That's a hot one!

Games. close to the object or answer that is being sought.

Informal. extremely exciting or interesting; sensational or scandalous: a hot news story.

Jazz.

(of music) emotionally intense, propulsive, and marked by aggressive attack and warm, full tone.
(of a musician) skilled in playing hot jazz.

Informal. (of a vehicle) capable of attaining extremely high speeds: a hot new jet plane.

Slang.

stolen recently or otherwise illegal and dangerous to possess: a hot diamond necklace.
wanted by the police.
dangerous.

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.

actively conducting an electric current or containing a high voltage: a hot wire.

of, relating to, or noting radioactivity.

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

in a hot manner; hotly.

while hot: Garnish the potatoes with parsley and serve hot.

Metalworking. at a temperature high enough to permit recrystallization: The wire was drawn hot.

verb (used with or without object), hot·ted, hot·ting.

Chiefly British Informal. to heat; warm (usually followed by up).

noun

the hots, Slang. intense sexual desire or attraction.

Nearby words

hostilely, hostilities, hostility, hostler, hostly, hot, hot air, hot and bothered, hot and heavy, hot as blazes, hot bed

Idioms

get hot, Slang. (in sports and games) to become very effective or successful; score or win repeatedly or easily.

hot and bothered, Informal. excited, aroused, or flustered: This mistake isn't worth getting hot and bothered about.Also all hot and bothered.

hot and heavy, Informal. in an intense, vehement, or passionate manner: They argued hot and heavy for 20 minutes.

hot under the collar. collar(def 23).

make it hot for, Informal. to make something unpleasant for; cause trouble for: Ever since their argument the principal has been making it hot for the new teacher.

Origin of hot

before 1000; 1920–25 for def 23; Middle English ho(o)t, Old English hāt; cognate with Dutch heet, Old Norse heitr, Swedish het, Danish hed, German heiss

SYNONYMS FOR hot

1 heated; fiery, burning, scorching; scalding, boiling; torrid, sultry.

4 biting, piquant, sharp, spicy.

5 fervid; fiery, passionate, intense, excitable, impetuous; angry, furious, irate, violent.

ANTONYMS FOR hot

1 cold.

Related forms

hot·ly, adverbhot·ness, nouno·ver·hot, adjectiveo·ver·hot·ly, adverb

ul·tra·hot, adjectiveun·hot, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

British Dictionary definitions for hot up (1 of 2)

hot up

verb (adverb) informal

to make or become more exciting, active, or intensethe chase was hotting up

(tr) another term for soup up

British Dictionary definitions for hot up (2 of 2)

hot

/ (hɒt) /

adjective hotter or hottest

having a relatively high temperature

having a temperature higher than desirable

causing or having a sensation of bodily heat

causing a burning sensation on the tonguehot mustard; a hot curry

expressing or feeling intense emotion, such as embarrassment, anger, or lust

intense or vehementa hot argument

recent; fresh; newa hot trial; hot from the press

ball games (of a ball) thrown or struck hard, and so difficult to respond to

much favoured or approveda hot tip; a hot favourite

informal having a dangerously high level of radioactivitya hot laboratory

slang (of goods or money) stolen, smuggled, or otherwise illegally obtained

slang (of people) being sought by the police

informal sexually attractive

(of a colour) intense; strikinghot pink

close or following closelyhot on the scent

informal at a dangerously high electric potentiala hot terminal

physics having an energy level higher than that of the ground statea hot atom

slang impressive or good of its kind (esp in the phrase not so hot)

jazz slang arousing great excitement or enthusiasm by inspired improvisation, strong rhythms, etc

informal dangerous or unpleasant (esp in the phrase make it hot for someone)

(in various searching or guessing games) very near the answer or object to be found

metallurgy (of a process) at a sufficiently high temperature for metal to be in a soft workable state

Australian and NZ informal (of a price, charge, etc) excessive

give it hot or give it to someone hot to punish or thrash someone

hot on informal

very severethe police are hot on drunk drivers
particularly skilled at or knowledgeable abouthe's hot on vintage cars

hot under the collar informal aroused with anger, annoyance, etc

in hot water informal in trouble, esp with those in authority

adverb

in a hot manner; hotly

Word Origin for hot

Old English hāt; related to Old High German heiz, Old Norse heitr, Gothic heito fever

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for hot up

hot

adj.

Old English hat "hot, flaming, opposite of cold," also "fervent, fierce, intense, excited," from Proto-Germanic *haita- (cf. Old Saxon and Old Frisian het, Old Norse heitr, Middle Dutch and Dutch heet, German heiß "hot," Gothic heito "heat of a fever"), from PIE root *kai- "heat" (cf. Lithuanian kaistu "to grow hot").

The association of hot with sexuality dates back to c.1500. Taste sense of "pungent, acrid, biting" is from 1540s. Sense of "exciting, remarkable, very good" is 1895; that of "stolen" is first recorded 1925 (originally with overtones of "easily identified and difficult to dispose of"); that of "radioactive" is from 1942.

Hot flashes in the menopausal sense attested from 1887. Hot air "unsubstantiated statements, boastful talk" is from 1900. Hot stuff for anything good or excellent is by 1889. Hot potato in figurative sense is from 1846. The hot and cold in hide-and-seek or guessing games are from hunting (1640s), with notion of tracking a scent.

Idioms and Phrases with hot up

hot

In addition to the idioms beginning with hot

hot air
hot and bothered
hot and heavy
hot as blazes
hot dog
hot line
hot number
hot off the press
hot on
hot potato
hot rod
hot seat, in the
hot stuff
hot to trot
hot under the collar
hot water

also see:

blow hot and cold
like a cat on hot bricks
like hot cakes
make it hot for
piping hot
strike while the iron's hot

hot

adjective, hot·ter, hot·test.

adverb

verb (used with or without object), hot·ted, hot·ting.

noun

RELATED CONTENT

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Idioms

Origin of hot

British Dictionary definitions for hot up (1 of 2)

hot up

verb (adverb) informal

British Dictionary definitions for hot up (2 of 2)

hot

adjective hotter or hottest

adverb

Word Origin for hot

Word Origin and History for hot up

hot

Idioms and Phrases with hot up

hot