hotshot

noun

hot·​shot ˈhät-ˌshät 

plural hotshots

1

: a talented or successful person who often has a showy or flashy manner

There are, of course, people here who believe that most Washington hotshots, journalistic as well as governmental, are fatly overpaid already …

—Meg Greenfield

… some young hotshots are leaving mutual funds … to set up hedge funds at a rate of more than one a day.

—Mitchell Pacelle

—often used before another noun

a hotshot actor

These days, the only teasing that Leinart gets is from friends who tell him that he doesn't take advantage of being a hotshot college quarterback.

—Phil Taylor

2

: a person trained to fight forest fires especially in remote areas

As a hotshot, his job was to rappel from helicopters into wildfires across the country.

—Anton L. Delgado and Dustin Patar

—often used before another noun

[Firefighter Zachary] Resnick said his hotshot crew used to get a break fighting wildfires from late November to late spring. Now, they're on duty nearly year-round.

—Lilia Luciano

3

: a fast freight train

First is a hotshot, LADAF, an automobile and trailer train from Los Angeles to Dallas ("F" stands for Forwarder). Its route through Texas is roundabout, so LADAF has to really move, and move it does …

—Fred W. Frailey

Synonyms

• expert
• master
• scholar
• adept
• virtuoso
• wizard
• guru
• artist
• ace

Examples of hotshot in a Sentence

The company has hired a couple of young hotshots to revamp its advertising campaign.

That guy thinks he's a real hotshot.

Recent Examples on the Web

First up was Bevan, who talked about their work on F1, which began with the role of young hotshot Joshua Pearce. —Damon Wise, Deadline, 11 Oct. 2025

Bateman also said that one member of the Bluth family wouldn't need a Hollywood hotshot to play him in the film. —Wesley Stenzel, Entertainment Weekly, 22 Sep. 2025

As the show opens, both characters live in Paris, not together but peacefully and successfully co-parenting their daughter Tali (Isla Gie) and enjoying successful private-sector careers: Tony is a hotshot security consultant and Ziva manages a language school. —Kelly Lawler, USA Today, 4 Sep. 2025

Not only is the work physically and mentally grueling, hotshots must dedicate at least six months of their life to their crew, sacrificing time with family and friends, along with individual autonomy. —River Selby august 25, Literary Hub, 25 Aug. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1922, in the meaning defined at sense 3

Rhymes for hotshot

• allot
• barat
• begot
• besought
• bethought
• bloodshot
• boycott
• buckshot
• crackpot
• croat
• culottes
• dashpot

Kids Definition

hotshot

noun

hot·​shot ˈhät-ˌshät 

: a showily skillful person