hot mess

noun

plural hot messes

1

informal : something or someone that is emphatically a mess: such as

a

: something in a state of extreme disorder or disarray

His latest outing, to a hot mess of a boutique hotel in New Mexico, is just as full of withering asides and bleeped-out F-bombs.

—TV Guide

b

: a disorganized, disheveled, or self-destructive person

She's a hard-drinking hot mess who scavenges the streets for castoff furniture and clothing that she spruces up and sometimes sells; how she survives in contemporary Los Angeles is one of the movie's biggest mysteries.

—Sheri Lindenn

also : such a person who is at the same time attractive or sexy

However, Everett actually is a hot mess when she performs. Her stage presence is erotic and chaotic, her big blond body wrapped in something low-cut and sheer.

—Molly Adams

2

archaic

a

: a hot dish especially of soft or pulpy food

… there was a stove over which our guides made a hot mess of flour and water which passed for soup.

—Edwin Swift Balch

b

: a hot mixture of ingredients cooked or eaten together

They were supping or breakfasting together off a hot mess of meat and vegetables, and rose up at our entrance, for the room boasted of a wooden bench and couple of ricketty stools.

—Henry Vizetelly

Examples of hot mess in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The leak seems especially likely given that the Until Dawn movie just hit theaters and appears to be a hot mess. —Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 26 Apr. 2025

My theory on why the app remains a hot mess, even with Amazon’s resources: This is what the folks at Amazon HQ in Seattle want. —Josef Adalian, Vulture, 4 Apr. 2025

Each episode has been drama-filled and has turned into a hot mess with all of the plot twists. —Giana Levy, refinery29.com, 29 Oct. 2024

Nikki is a hot mess who knows exactly what needs to be done. —Mary McNamara, Los Angeles Times, 3 Apr. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1772, in the meaning defined at sense 2b

Rhymes for hot mess

• abbess
• abscess
• access
• address
• assess
• caress
• confess
• depress
• digress
• distress
• egress
• excess

Video

Hot Mess

Our research turned up two archaic literal meanings