hotshot

noun

hot·shot | \ ˈhät-ˌshät

plural hotshots

Definition of hotshot

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 actorThese 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 & Antonyms More Example Sentences Learn More About hotshot

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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 At this pace of WWE hotshot booking, Brock Lesnar will have a Raw match by November. — Alfred Konuwa, Forbes, 28 Sep. 2021 And over the next week, outside help finally started to show up in significant numbers: hotshot crews, state foresters, and U.S. Forest Service personnel. — Jeffrey E. Stern, The Atlantic, 30 Aug. 2021 The steep terrain and extreme fire behavior has created dangerous conditions for firefighters, including hotshot crews working on the Dixie Fire. — Nicole Chavez, CNN, 5 Aug. 2021 Meanwhile, the steep terrain and extreme fire behavior has created dangerous conditions for firefighters in California, including hotshot crews working on the Dixie Fire. — Aya Elamroussi, CNN, 28 July 2021 Among the victims was U.S. Forest Service hotshot firefighter Charles Morton, who perished in the blaze. — Author: Brian Rokos, Anchorage Daily News, 21 July 2021 The second season begins with Lasso's fictional London team relegated from the elite division, its aged champion played by Goldstein retired and the team's arrogant hotshot played by Phil Dunster far away. — Mark Kennedy, Star Tribune, 15 July 2021 Onetime Richmond hotshot Jamie Tartt (Phil Dunster) books an extracurricular gig that's too ridiculously perfect to spoil. — Kristen Baldwin, EW.com, 12 July 2021 Hump recalls his hotshot decades, visions of firefights, falling trees, crew members seriously burned and hotshots dying. — Paul Vercammen, CNN, 26 June 2021

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'hotshot.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.