hot
Americanadjective
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having or giving off heat; having a high temperature.
a hot fire;
hot coffee.
- Antonyms:
- cold
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having or causing a sensation of great bodily heat; attended with or producing such a sensation.
He was hot with fever.
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creating a burning sensation, as on the skin or in the throat.
This ointment is hot, so apply it sparingly.
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sharply peppery or pungent.
Is this mustard hot?
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having or showing intense or violent feeling; ardent; fervent; vehement; excited.
a hot temper.
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Informal. having a strong enthusiasm; eager.
a hot baseball fan.
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Slang.
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sexually aroused; lustful.
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sexy; attractive.
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violent, furious, or intense.
the hottest battle of the war.
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strong or fresh, as a scent or trail.
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absolutely new; fresh.
a dozen new mystery stories hot from the press.
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requiring immediate delivery or correspondence; demanding priority.
The hot freight must be delivered by 10:00 a.m. tomorrow, or we'll lose the contract.
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Slang. skillful in a reckless or daring way.
a hot pilot.
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following very closely; close.
to be hot on the trail of a thief.
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(of colors) extremely intense.
hot pink.
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Informal. popular and commercially successful; in demand; marketable.
The Beatles were a hot group in the 1960s.
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Slang. extremely lucky, good, or favorable.
A poker player has to have a hot hand to win the pot.
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Slang. (in sports and games) playing well or winningly; scoring effectively.
a hot pitcher.
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Slang. funny; absurd.
That's a hot one!
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Games. close to the object or answer that is being sought.
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Informal. extremely exciting or interesting; sensational or scandalous.
a hot news story.
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Jazz.
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(of music) emotionally intense, propulsive, and marked by aggressive attack and warm, full tone.
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(of a musician) skilled in playing hot jazz.
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Informal. (of a vehicle) capable of attaining extremely high speeds.
a hot new jet plane.
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Slang.
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Informal. in the mood to perform exceedingly well, or rapidly, as during a burst of creative work.
Finish writing that story while you're still hot.
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actively conducting an electric current or containing a high voltage.
a hot wire.
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of, relating to, or noting radioactivity.
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Metalworking. noting any process involving plastic deformation of a metal at a temperature high enough to permit recrystallization due to the strain.
hot working.
adverb
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in a hot manner; hotly.
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while hot.
Garnish the potatoes with parsley and serve hot.
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Metalworking. at a temperature high enough to permit recrystallization.
The wire was drawn hot.
verb (used with or without object)
noun
idioms
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hot under the collar. collar.
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get hot, (in sports and games) to become very effective or successful; score or win repeatedly or easily.
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make it hot for, to make something unpleasant for; cause trouble for.
Ever since their argument the principal has been making it hot for the new teacher.
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hot and bothered, excited, aroused, or flustered: Also all hot and bothered.
This mistake isn't worth getting hot and bothered about.
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hot and heavy, in an intense, vehement, or passionate manner.
They argued hot and heavy for 20 minutes.
adjective
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having a relatively high temperature
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having a temperature higher than desirable
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causing or having a sensation of bodily heat
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causing a burning sensation on the tongue
hot mustard
a hot curry
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expressing or feeling intense emotion, such as embarrassment, anger, or lust
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intense or vehement
a hot argument
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recent; fresh; new
a hot trial
hot from the press
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ball games (of a ball) thrown or struck hard, and so difficult to respond to
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much favoured or approved
a hot tip
a hot favourite
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informal having a dangerously high level of radioactivity
a hot laboratory
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slang (of goods or money) stolen, smuggled, or otherwise illegally obtained
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slang (of people) being sought by the police
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informal sexually attractive
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(of a colour) intense; striking
hot pink
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close or following closely
hot on the scent
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informal at a dangerously high electric potential
a hot terminal
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physics having an energy level higher than that of the ground state
a hot atom
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slang impressive or good of its kind (esp in the phrase not so hot )
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slang jazz arousing great excitement or enthusiasm by inspired improvisation, strong rhythms, etc
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informal dangerous or unpleasant (esp in the phrase make it hot for someone )
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(in various searching or guessing games) very near the answer or object to be found
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metallurgy (of a process) at a sufficiently high temperature for metal to be in a soft workable state
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informal (of a price, charge, etc) excessive
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to punish or thrash someone
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informal
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very severe
the police are hot on drunk drivers
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particularly skilled at or knowledgeable about
he's hot on vintage cars
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informal aroused with anger, annoyance, etc
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informal in trouble, esp with those in authority
adverb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of hot
First recorded before 1000; 1920–25 hot for def. 23; Middle English ho(o)t, Old English hāt; cognate with Dutch heet, Old Norse heitr, Swedish het, Danish hed, German heiss
Explanation
Hot is the opposite of cold. This could mean a hot day in July, a baseball team on a hot streak, or a hot bikini model. Most meanings of hot have to do with heat: what makes us sweat. A stove can be red hot. Spicy food is hot, and newspapers used to be "hot off the presses" because the printing process actually warmed the paper. New things are often referred to as hot — like a hot new band. Stolen property is also called hot because you can't hold onto it too long or it will burn you — though perhaps not in the usual way.
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.
See Examples For:
The clouds, which have been observed during wildfires in Canada and Australia, are created by intense heat that lifts hot smoky air and causes the water vapor to condense into ash.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026
It’s a sweltering hot Thursday morning at the Central Avenue Farmers Market.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
I added enough hot sauce to drown out the lemon.
From Salon ● Jul. 28, 2026
The city is the birthplace of the modern hot air balloon, dating back to 1967 when the Bristol Belle was built and flown in the area.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
During the long hot afternoons, pranks and talk died down as each one sat alone with his own thoughts.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
Before air-con, mental concentration and with it the quality of work deteriorated as the day got hotter and more humid.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
Southern California will continue to endure hotter than normal conditions for the foreseeable future, with the peak of the heat wave lasting through Sunday, forecasters said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026
"You leave the hotel at 8.30... it feels as if it was noontime. And as the day progresses, it just gets hotter and hotter and hotter," said Yesenia Gueta, 47, visiting from Los Angeles.
From Barron's ● Jul. 23, 2026
I drew that potent conclusion from it when I first saw it, before our summers grew hotter and a long-ago sight I’d planned to repeat became something closer to a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
From Salon ● Jul. 22, 2026
I didn’t think my face could get any hotter than it already was.
From "The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman" by Gennifer Choldenko
This summer’s hottest drink isn’t a matcha latte or a billion-dollar smoothie.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026
The hottest conditions will be concentrated on Wednesday before a weather front moving through on Thursday will usher in fresher air, bringing a noticeable change in feel.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
Monday’s environment, though, was probably the hottest opening day in his four seasons at Crespi.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
Japan sweltered through its hottest summer on record last year.
From Barron's ● Jul. 23, 2026
It had been much warmer than usual for January, and it was three o’clock, the hottest part of the day.
From "Tiger Boy" by Mitali Perkins
It had a lot of money behind it and, as the battle for No 1 hotted up, I started getting hate mail from Oasis fans and Jacko fans.
From The Guardian ● Dec. 14, 2018
As debate hotted up, one Twitter user provided a sympathetic look at life from the view of an empty seat with @OlympicSeat, whose profile reads: "I feel nothing but emptiness."
From Reuters ● Aug. 12, 2012
Strong colors from cobalt blue to mixes of fuchsia and orange hotted up the show.
From New York Times ● Jun. 21, 2011
Capital immediately rejected the idea and said it would press on, and today the war of words hotted up.
From The Guardian ● Dec. 8, 2010
As for the Dances, Charles and George to boot, What have they more Of ease and rest, for sole of either foot, Than bear that capers on a hotted floor!
From The Humorous Poetry of the English Language; from Chaucer to Saxe by Parton, James
Behind the top three, the battle for a place in next season's Champions League is hotting up as Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United all secured important wins.
From Barron's ● Feb. 1, 2026
In New York, another Drum Cafe session is hotting up.
From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2022
“The Highland League is hotting up, Rob, as the race for the title and a place in the pyramid play-off nears,” says Simon McMahon.
From The Guardian ● Apr. 2, 2022
Trends in single-family homes are more of what we’ve been seeing for the past months: Markets in outlying counties keep hotting up as King County keeps slowing down.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 5, 2019
The eight o’clock parties would be just hotting up.
From "Fallen Angels" by Walter Dean Myers
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.
