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:
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
He wasn’t the only one who refused to trade his hot dog for an empanada.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026
Michigan, or the titanic struggle of Joey Chestnut vs. a hot dog, the distinction of greatest rivalry in sports belongs to a showdown that isn’t such a regular fixture on the calendar.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026
In the women's competition, Miki Sudo finished 38 and three-quarters of a hot dog to claim her 12th contest title.
From BBC ● Jul. 5, 2026
The promise of a bacon-wrapped hot dog bite is a powerful thing.
From "The Benefits of Being an Octopus" by Ann Braden
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
“If it’s about this land, it’s mine. I built this hot-dog stand with my own hands.”
From "The Martian Chronicles" by Ray Bradbury
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
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
But there was plenty of hot-dogging, too: routine shots made difficult, as well as difficult shots made to look ridiculously easy.
From New York Times ● Jul. 1, 2016
In 2001 a hot-dogging Chinese fighter pilot caused an international incident when he crashed his plane into a U.S. reconnaissance plane.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 8, 2016
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.
