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definitions
  • synonyms

hot mic

or hot mike

[hot mahyk]
noun Informal.
  1. a microphone that is actively recording or broadcasting, especially if it captures a comment or conversation that the speaker or speakers believed to be private (often used attributively): The techs should limit the number of hot mics to reduce acoustic feedback. The reporter was suspended after her profanity was caught on a hot mic. Their hot mic scheming confirmed the conspiracy theories.
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Origin of hot mic

1930–35; hot (in the sense “actively conducting an electric current”) + mic “microphone”
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018