hot seat

American  

noun

Slang.

1. electric chair.

2. a highly uncomfortable or embarrassing situation.

   I'm in the hot seat because of the contract I lost.

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hot seat British  

noun

1. informal a precarious, difficult, or dangerous position

2. a slang term for electric chair

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Etymology

Origin of hot seat

First recorded in 1915–20

Example Sentences

Cue the violins, because after Jerome Powell’s swan song Fed rate meeting, it’s his final two weeks in the hot seat.

From Barron's • May 4, 2026

Investors closely watched Kevin Warsh’s turn in the hot seat before the Senate Banking Committee for signals on how he would act as Fed chair.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 21, 2026

Redick, who signed an extension in September that will keep him under contract until 2030, is not on the hot seat, not yet.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 9, 2026

Finch, who sat in BBC CWR's hot seat on Friday, said he wrote the letter to get the "best deal" for vulnerable children.

From BBC • Nov. 7, 2025

“Styx has been to the Children’s Museum ten times,” I reported, hoping to get him off the hot seat.

From "The Season of Styx Malone" by Kekla Magoon