hot water

noun

: a difficult or dangerous situation : trouble entry 1 sense 4

—used with in or into

But this poor fellow was always getting into hot water, and if there was a wrong way of doing a thing, was sure to hit upon it.

—Richard Henry Dana, Jr.

In recent years, comedians have found themselves in hot water for making politically incorrect topics about everything from race to gender.

—James Hohmann

Examples of hot water in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

However, there was also an extremely serious tone to this edition, with countless artists making political statements — and some finding themselves in hot water because of it. —Ellise Shafer, Variety, 30 June 2025

Most beds can be washed on a gentle cycle in hot water and can be dried on a low setting. —Bestreviews, Chicago Tribune, 27 June 2025

Only hot water immersion produced a measurable inflammatory response, shown through changes in immune cell populations and levels of inflammatory cytokines, Atencio explained. —Daniella Gray, MSNBC Newsweek, 26 June 2025

Apple found itself in hot water when news broke that the Apple Card was offering lower credit limits to women, regardless of their financial profiles. —Larry English, Forbes.com, 26 June 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1840, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for hot water

• backwater
• bathwater
• blackwater
• breakwater
• deepwater
• edgewater
• feedwater
• floodwater
• freshwater
• granddaughter
• groundwater
• headwater

Kids Definition

hot water

noun

: a distressing situation : trouble

in hot water for not doing my chores