hot mess

noun

Slang.

1. a person or thing that is a mess, as in being disorganized, confused, or untidy, yet remains attractive or appealing.

   He’s a hot mess when he wakes up in the morning!

Word History and Origins

Origin of hot mess¹

First recorded in 1895–1900

Example Sentences

“To call France a ‘hot mess’ would be an understatement extraordinaire,” Yardeni Research founder Ed Yardeni wrote in a note on Oct.

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French politics are a hot mess.

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Jude Law and Jason Bateman co-star in Netflix’s New York-set crime thriller, with Law as the owner of a hot restaurant and Bateman as his hot mess of a brother.

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The panel said Monguia also made improper remarks to prospective jurors including one woman whom he referred to as a “hot mess” after she disclosed her son’s criminal history during jury selection in September 2022.

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Alix Earle, also previously revealed as a competitor, comes in from the world of social media celebrity and hosts the podcast “Hot Mess With Alix Earle.”

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When To Use

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.