hot seat
Americannoun
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a highly uncomfortable or embarrassing situation.
I'm in the hot seat because of the contract I lost.
noun
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informal a precarious, difficult, or dangerous position
-
a slang term for electric chair
Etymology
Origin of hot seat
First recorded in 1915–20
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.
After two winning seasons, Mattingly was in the hot seat with the Dodgers in last place early in the 2013 campaign.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 1, 2026
As he heads out of the hot seat, he would like to see more support for those who follow in his, and their, wake.
From BBC ● Jun. 4, 2026
Scott has also found himself on the hot seat over his $163,000 city SUV.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 13, 2026
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
I felt like I was in the hot seat, no pun intended.
From "The First Rule of Punk" by Celia C. Pérez
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.
