hot pants

American  

[hot pants, hot pants] / ˈhɒt ˌpænts, ˈhɒt ˈpænts /

noun

1. (used with a plural verb) very brief and usually tight-fitting shorts for women and girls, first popularized in the early 1970s.

2. (used with a singular verb)

   1. strong sexual desire.

      He has hot pants for her.

   2. a person, especially a woman, with strong sexual desire.

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hot pants British  

plural noun

1. very brief skin-tight shorts, worn by young women

2. slang a feeling of sexual arousal

   he has hot pants for her

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Etymology

Origin of hot pants

First recorded in 1925–30 hot pants for def. 2; and in 1965–70 hot pants for def. 1

Example Sentences

On travel forums, tourists are encouraged to ditch bikinis and hot pants for more modest attire.

From BBC • Oct. 18, 2025

McCartney gave us sheeny shirts with historic white cape sleeves, neatly paired with shimmering crystal hot pants — lead-free, of course.

From Seattle Times • Oct. 2, 2023

Southwest distinguished itself as a scrappy underdog airline whose flight attendants wore go-go boots and hot pants, and whose marketing grew out of the airline’s beginnings at Love Field in the Dallas area.

From Washington Post • Dec. 30, 2022

Inside, however, I found myself dancing next to a hedgehog wearing a top hat, an anime nun with an acid green halo and a humanoid fox in hot pants.

From New York Times • Dec. 27, 2022

I had a friend in grammar school whose mother wore hot pants and white vinyl go-go boots just like Nancy Sinatra.

From "Dreaming in Cuban" by Cristina García