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in the hot seat

Cultural  

  1. In an uncomfortable or embarrassing situation, usually by being subjected to severe criticism: “When the settlement talks broke down, he was in the hot seat with both management and labor.” The phrase is an extension of “hot seat,” slang for the electric chair.

in the hot seat Idioms  

  1. see hot seat.

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.

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

Few are like Cliffwater, which until recently was an investor darling but now finds itself in the hot seat.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 1, 2026

OpenAI’s new short-form video app is putting Meta Platforms Inc. in the hot seat.

From MarketWatch • Oct. 13, 2025

He has had an excellent grounding in football with various coaching roles but being in the hot seat yourself is very different.

From BBC • Jan. 8, 2025

Gay and Phil would be in the hot seat next.

From "Three Little Words: A Memoir" by Ashley Rhodes-Courter

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.