hot mess
Americannoun
Usage
What does hot mess mean? Hot mess is used to describe a particularly disorganized person or chaotic situation. In some uses, a person described as a hot mess is attractive but just barely keeping it together.
Etymology
Origin of hot mess
First recorded in 1895–1900
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.
Investors are demanding higher rates when they buy long-duration bonds because there is less demand, higher supply and a hot mess of policy uncertainty.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 7, 2026
Ambassador Fried says last week's 28-point US plan was a "hot mess" but that the impetus behind it is real.
From BBC ● Nov. 26, 2025
Nikki is a hot mess who knows exactly what needs to be done.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 3, 2025
The film closes with a Vance voice-over explaining that “we choose every day who we become,” a statement that feels like it is pointed directly at the “choices” of hot mess Bev.
From Salon ● Jul. 20, 2024
He was still in the same hot mess that we were.
From "The Season of Styx Malone" by Kekla Magoon
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.
