hot dog
1 Americannoun
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a frankfurter.
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a sandwich consisting of a frankfurter in a split roll, usually eaten with mustard, sauerkraut, or relish.
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Informal. Also hotdog, hot dogger, hotdogger, hot-dogger
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a person who performs complex, showy, and sometimes dangerous maneuvers, especially in surfing or skiing.
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a show-off, especially in sports.
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interjection
verb (used without object)
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to perform unusual or very intricate maneuvers in a sport, especially surfing or skiing.
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to perform in a recklessly or flamboyantly skillful manner, as in a sport or athletic activity; show off.
adjective
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skillful or excellent, as in sports performance.
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of, indicating, or for a type of sports activity, especially surfing or skiing, in which intricate and potentially dangerous stunts are performed.
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intended or done to draw attention; showy or sensational.
noun
verb
noun
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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]
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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.
Consumers are increasingly willing to switch proteins, with chicken and hot dog prices rising slower than beef.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 30, 2026
Amongst them was Olha Kovalchuk, 39, and her two-year-old daughter, who was joyfully eating a hot dog in her pram.
From Barron's • Jun. 15, 2026
Carl Karcher, who parlayed a single hot dog pushcart into a chain of more than 1,000 fast-food restaurants bearing his name, died Friday.
From Los Angeles Times • May 30, 2026
The only glimpse the audience had of "the Pope" was an arm reaching out from behind a dressing room door labelled "Pope Leo XIV" and throwing away a hot dog.
From BBC • May 22, 2026
“Don’t eat any of the food,” she said as she handed a customer his hot dog.
From "Made You Up" by Francesca Zappia
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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.