make it hot for

Idioms

Cause trouble or discomfort for someone, as in They made it so hot for Larry that he had to resign, or The police were making it hot for shoplifters. This seemingly modern idiom was first recorded in 1618.

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.

A number of people might have wanted to kill Mrs. Bischoff: Shortly before her death she wrote to her husband that she was about to expose him and "make it hot for McLaughlin."

From Time Magazine Archive

Opponents did their best to make it hot for the law professors.

From Time Magazine Archive

The best the school could do was to make it hot for any student caught going there.

From "Invisible Man" by Ralph Ellison

“We’ll make it hot for ’em, all the same,” said Carhayes, with a scowl.

From 'Tween Snow and Fire A Tale of the Last Kafir War by Mitford, Bertram

"Jim," I said, touching him on the shoulder, "they mean to make it hot for Bethel, and he will be one man against fifty—we must not allow anything like that."

From Out of a Labyrinth by Lynch, Lawrence L.

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023