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
Once the league’s model franchise and long its most successful, having hoisted 12 trophies, the Galaxy were a hot mess.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 29, 2024
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
There’s also a tired sameness to Mack’s whole cool girl/hot mess routine, which I think is supposed to be interesting because it’s a different variety of hot mess from regular girls.
From New York Times ● Feb. 13, 2024
And of course, I'm a hot mess for the rest of the day.
From "Leah on the Offbeat" by Becky Albertalli
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.
