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.
As he heads out of the hot seat, he would like to see more support for those who follow in his, and their, wake.
From BBC ● Jun. 4, 2026
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
Other NBA coaches on the hot seat include Jamahl Mosley of the Orlando Magic and Brian Keefe of the Washington Wizards.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 13, 2026
WSJLI: You guys did a really fun social campaign with Ziwe, where the comedian known for putting celebrities in the hot seat was running a “Bad Boyfriend Bootcamp” with culture’s notoriously bad boyfriends.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 5, 2026
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.
