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.
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
Judging by the noise coming out of Hollywood, whoever ends up in the hot seat ought to be relieved not to be caught up in the Warner takeover battle.
From Barron's ● Dec. 24, 2025
Hudson and Belichick, who began dating in 2023, have been thrown into the hot seat time and time again since going public with their age-gap relationship.
From MarketWatch ● Dec. 3, 2025
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.
