hot water

noun

Informal.

1. trouble; a predicament.

   His skipping classes will get him into real hot water when exam time comes.

Word History and Origins

Origin of hot water¹

First recorded in 1530–40

Idioms and Phrases

Trouble or difficulty, as in She's deep in political hot water, or We got in hot water over the car deal, or He's finally paid his tuition and is out of hot water with the school. This metaphoric term alludes to water hot enough to burn one. [First half of 1500s] Also see in trouble with.

Example Sentences

One, which poked fun at Michael Jordan’s gambling, was featured in USA Today and got the team in hot water with the NBA.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Ahead of a concert scheduled for Thursday night at Walt Disney Concert Hall in downtown Los Angeles, the 47-year-old looked back on the experience as she sipped hot water and munched discs of raw ginger.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

This month Nissin announced its upcoming launch of a “hot water van” that will tour the U.S. and distribute samples of instant noodles.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

It wouldn’t be the last time that a regrettable decision about spilling on NBA players would land Jones in hot water.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

This strange stuff is as dense as water but flows like steam, and can in theory produce 10 times as much energy as conventional hot water from beneath earth’s surface.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal