hot

1 of 4

adjective

ˈhät 

hotter; hottest

1

a

: having a relatively high temperature

hot and humid weather

serving hot meals to the poor

b

: capable of giving a sensation of heat or of burning, searing, or scalding

working outside in the hot sun

fried in hot oil

c

: having heat in a degree exceeding normal body heat

Your forehead feels hot.

2

a

: marked by violence or fierceness : stormy

a hot temper

a hot battle

also : angry

got hot about the remark

b(1)

: sexually excited or receptive

It's obvious he's hot for her.

(2)

: sexy

That guy she's dating is really hot.

c

: eager, zealous

hot for reform

d

of jazz : emotionally exciting and marked by strong rhythms and free melodic improvisations

3

: having or causing the sensation of an uncomfortable degree of body heat

hot and tired

it's hot in here

4

a

: newly made : fresh

a hot scent

bread hot from the oven

hot off the press

b

: close to something sought

hot on the trail

5

a

: suggestive of heat or of burning or glowing objects : very bright

hot colors

hot pink

b

of food : having a component (such as capsaicin) that creates a burning or tingling sensation in the mouth : pungent, peppery

hot mustard

the hottest chili I've ever tasted

see also hot pepper, hot sauce

6

a

: of intense and immediate interest

some hot gossip

b

: unusually lucky or favorable

on a hot streak

c

: temporarily capable of unusual performance (as in a sport)

d

: currently popular or in demand

She's become one of Hollywood's hottest commodities.

a hot item in stores this year

e

: very good

a hot idea

not feeling too hot

f

: absurd, unbelievable

wants to fight the champ? that's a hot one

7

a

: electrically energized especially with high voltage

That wire is hot.

b

: radioactive

hot material

also : dealing with radioactive material

a hot laboratory

c

of an atom or molecule : being in an excited state

8

a

: recently and illegally obtained

hot jewels

admitted that the car was hot

b

: wanted by the police

also : unsafe for a fugitive

made the town too hot for them

9

: fast

a hot new fighter plane

a hot lap around the track

hotness noun

hottish

ˈhä-tish 

adjective

hot

2 of 4

adverb

1

: hotly

the sun shines hot

—William Shakespeare

2

: fast, quickly

hot

3 of 4

noun

1

: a period of relatively high temperature : a period of heat

during the hot of the day

2

: one that is hot (such as a hot meal or a horse just after a workout)

3

hots plural : strong sexual desire

—used with the

has got the hots for the new guy in the office

hot

4 of 4

verb

hotted; hotting; hots

transitive verb

chiefly Southern US, south Midland US, and British

: heat, warm

He took her up her supper, saying, "I've hotted the soup, and I found the chicken."

—Mrs. Henry Dudeney (Alice Louisa Dudenay)

—usually used with up

hotted up the kettle

… he was sitting by the fire hotting up some of his cider in a saucepan; this he was taking with rosemary to cure his cold.

—Fred Archer

see also hot up

Phrases

hot under the collar

: extremely exasperated or angry

Synonyms

Adjective

• ardent
• boiling
• broiling
• burning
• fervent
• fervid
• fiery
• piping hot
• red
• red-hot
• roasting
• scalding
• scorching
• searing
• sultry
• superheated
• sweltering
• torrid
• ultrahot
• white-hot

Adverb

• apace
• briskly
• chop-chop
• double-quick
• fast
• fleetly
• full tilt
• hastily
• hell-for-leather
• lickety-split
• posthaste
• presto
• pronto
• quick
• quickly
• rapidly
• snappily
• soon
• speedily
• swift
• swiftly

Noun

• concupiscence
• desire
• eroticism
• horniness
• itch
• lech
• letch
• libidinousness
• lust
• lustfulness
• lustihood
• passion
• salaciousness

Verb

• heat
• toast
• warm

Examples of hot in a Sentence

Adjective

It is hot in the summer and cold in the winter.

The baked potatoes were too hot to handle with our bare hands.

We worked all afternoon in the hot sun.

The chicken was fried in hot oil.

Your forehead feels hot. I think you might have a fever.

I was feeling hot and tired.

a selection of hot beverages

The new toys are so hot that stores can't keep them in stock.

Her new book is a hot seller.

She spoke about the latest hot trends in the computer industry.

Adverb

workers were working hot and heavy to repair the breach in the levee

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

In the background, fights over election procedures and immigration are still running hot. —Elizabeth Robinson, NBC News, 11 Apr. 2024

The sheets actually have a cool-to-the-touch feel that provides instant relief for hot sleepers. —Bethany Braun-Silva, ABC News, 11 Apr. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

Middle English hot, hoot, (northern) hat, going back to Old English hāt, going back to Germanic *haita- (whence also Old Frisian & Old Saxon hēt "having a high temperature, burning," Old High German heiz, Old Norse heitr), of uncertain origin

Note: For Germanic verb and noun derivatives of *haita- see heat entry 1, heat entry 2. The Early Modern English shortening of Middle English long open o in hot has been explained as influence of the comparative and superlative forms, but this does not appear to have occurred in analogous cases. The Germanic adjective *haita-, from a presumed pre-Germanic *koid-, is reflected in other ablaut variants, as Gothic heito "fever," from *hītōn- (from *keid-) and a zero grade in Old Frisian hette, hitte "heat," Old High German hizzea, hizza (from *kid-); all these may reflect an unattested strong verb *hītan-. Traditionally the base *keid- has been connected by means of a "root extension" *-d- with Old High German hei, gehei, geheige "heat, drought," Middle Dutch hei "hot, dry," from a presumed Indo-European verb base *kei- "burn, heat" (in earlier literature *kai-, though there appears to be no reason to posit such a vocalism). These forms have in turn been compared with a series of Baltic words (as Lithuanian kaičiù, kaĩsti "to heat," kaistù, kaĩsti "to become hot"), from *koit- with a different root extension -t-.

Adverb

Middle English hot, hote, hoote, going back to Old English hāte, derivative of hāt hot entry 1

Noun

derivative of hot entry 1

Note: Frequently nominalized as a pair with cold entry 1 (the nominal equivalent of which is identical with the adjective), a connection that goes back to Old English ("hat and ceald").

Verb

Middle English hoten, going back to Old English hātian, gehātian, derivative of hāt hot entry 1

First Known Use

Adjective

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Adverb

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

12th century, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing hot

• blow hot and cold
• come/follow close/hard/hot on the heels of (something)
• come/follow close/hard/hot on something's heels
• close/hard/hot on someone's or something's heels
• hot chocolate
• hot and heavy
• hot button
• hot dog
• hot key
• hot link
• hot line
• hot-melt
• hot on the trail of
• hot pursuit
• hot pot
• hot shit
• hot second
• hot streak
• hot take
• hot spot
• hot ticket
• hot tip
• hot-tempered
• hot spring
• hot stuff
• hot to trot
• hot war
• hot-water bottle
• hot water
• like a (hot) knife through butter
• on a hot streak
• scorching hot
• red-hot poker
• red hot
• stifling hot
• the hot seat
• strike while the iron is hot
• slave over a hot stove
• white-hot
• hot-air balloon
• hot fudge
• hot corner
• hot comb
• hot cocoa
• hot commodity
• burning hot
• hot flash
• hot air
• hot-blooded
• hot mess
• hot metal
• hot money
• hot number
• hot fudge sauce
• hot and bothered
• hot pants
• hot pepper
• hot plate
• hot on
• hot rod
• hot potato
• hot seat
• hot sauce
• hot tub
• piping hot
• hot fudge sundae
• hot-rodder
• when you're hot, you're hot
• hot-wire
• in hot pursuit
• hot up
• hot under the collar

Video

Hot Mess

Our research turned up two archaic literal meanings

Kids Definition

hot

adjective

ˈhät

hotter; hottest

1

: having a high temperature

2

a

: easily excited : ardent, fiery

hot temper

b

: violent sense 1, raging

a hot battle

c

: eager

hot for reform

3

: feeling or causing an uncomfortable degree of body heat

my forehead is hot

it's hot in here

4

: newly made : fresh

hot scent

also : close to something sought

you're getting hotter

5

: suggestive of heat or of burning or glowing objects

hot spicy foods

hot colors

6

a

: temporarily capable of unusual performance (as in a sport)

b

: currently popular or interesting

a hot topic of conversation

the hot fashions for spring

7

a

: carrying electric current

b

: radioactive

c

: dealing with radioactive material

8

a

: recently stolen

hot jewels

b

: wanted by the police

hot adverb

hotly adverb

hotness noun

Medical Definition

hot

adjective

ˈhät 

hotter; hottest

1

a

: having a relatively high temperature

b

: capable of giving a sensation of heat or of burning, searing, or scalding

c

: having heat in a degree exceeding normal body heat

2

a

: radioactive

especially : exhibiting a relatively great amount of radioactivity when subjected to radionuclide scanning

b

: dealing with radioactive material