hot rod

1 of 2

noun (1)

: an automobile rebuilt or modified for high speed and fast acceleration

hot-rodder

2 of 2

noun (2)

hot-rod·​der ˈhät-ˌrä-dər 

: a hot rod driver, builder, or enthusiast

hot-rod

ˈhät-ˈräd 

verb

Examples of hot rod in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

This is like an old-school hot rod moment, where guys in the parking lot would bark about their big-blocks. — Caleb Jacobs, The Drive, 24 Sep. 2026

The meetup, billed as the biggest weekly car show in the world, frequently draws hundreds of vehicles to the Outlets at San Clemente including hypercars, supercars, hot rods, muscle cars and motorcycles. — Hannah Fry, Los Angeles Times, 15 Sep. 2026

Noun

Customers can then live out their early-1960s hot-rodder dream by installing the engine and gearbox themselves, or have a shop do the work instead. — Michael Van Runkle, Robb Report, 18 Sep. 2024

Many of these hot-rodders liked the looks and styling of their hotrods but didn’t like getting beaten from the stoplight by a Camaro, Viper or Mustang. — David Krumboltz, The Mercury News, 3 Mar. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

Noun (1)

1943, in the meaning defined above

Noun (2)

1947, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for hot rod

• abroad
• applaud
• backboard
• ballade
• defraud
• ephod
• facade
• guffawed
• outlawed
• ramrod
• roughshod
• slipshod

Kids Definition

hot rod

noun

: an automobile rebuilt or changed for high speed and fast acceleration