hot seat

noun

1
slang : electric chair
2
: a position of uneasiness, embarrassment, or anxiety

Examples of hot seat in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Virginia’s Tony Elliott, 11-23 in his first three seasons, has gone from hot seat to ACC championship hopeful in the span of five games. Stewart Mandel, New York Times, 28 Sep. 2025 Swinney has started becoming a hot seat candidate as well. Evan Massey, MSNBC Newsweek, 28 Sep. 2025 As has become tradition, the ads will reference trends and conversations in college football like the coaching hot seat, flag planting and quarterbacks sliding in the draft. Kristi Dosh, Forbes.com, 13 Sep. 2025 There are hot seats and there are inevitabilities, unhappy endings to would-be fairy tales. Mirjam Swanson, Oc Register, 13 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for hot seat

Word History

First Known Use

1925, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of hot seat was in 1925

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Hot seat.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hot%20seat. Accessed 4 Oct. 2025.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!