HOTSHOT Synonyms: 57 Similar and Opposite Words

hotshot

noun

ˈhät-ˌshät

Definition of hotshot

as in expert

a person with a high level of knowledge or skill in a field while still in his 20s, he was known on Wall Street as an investment hotshot

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

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.

Recent Examples of hotshot The Waves’ young hotshot, Dyson Gibbs (Uche Agada), steps on the toes of the team’s longtime star, Marcus Winfield (Toby Sandeman). — Brian Davids, HollywoodReporter, 23 Apr. 2026 The original film, which followed Cruise as the hotshot fighter pilot, was released in 1986. — Saba Hamedy, NBC news, 17 Apr. 2026 Fire crews from Gardner, Rye and Spanish Peaks fire departments and a hotshot crew all responded to the fire, officials said. — Katie Langford, Denver Post, 26 Mar. 2026 The trade floor was awash with ’empty’ books that were part of a protest being run by former Silicon Valley hotshot Ed Newton-Rex, who managed to get 10,000 authors to put their name behind the stunt. — Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 13 Mar. 2026 See All Example Sentences for hotshot

Recent Examples of Synonyms for hotshot

Noun

Some experts point to worsening public health since the 2008 financial crisis, citing factors such as growing obesity, long hospital waiting times, the cost-of-living crisis and other social causes.

— The Week UK, TheWeek, 4 Oct. 2026
The weekly newsletter offers readers savings tips, expert answers to your questions and weekly challenges to help boost savings.

— Jeanne Sahadi, CNN Money, 3 Oct. 2026

Definition of expert

Noun

The chain’s restaurants were leased back to it under a 25-year master lease, which included 2% annual escalators, extending until the early 2040s, according to the initial deal terms.

— Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 1 Oct. 2026
This year’s festival will also include a retrospective on the works of Japanese master filmmaker Kenji Mizoguchi.

— Abid Rahman, HollywoodReporter, 1 Oct. 2026

Definition of master

Noun

But many scholars, and the justices themselves, argue that public perception is not matched by reality.

— ABC News, ABC News, 5 Oct. 2026
Chinese scholars and officials regularly call for improving the benefits provided to rural residents as a means to stimulate domestic demand.

— Carl Minzner, Foreign Affairs, 5 Oct. 2026

Definition of scholar

Noun

Still, the question of what Ebel was doing with his adepts swept through Prussia, dominating the newspapers that had only recently begun to emerge from their eighteenth-century chronicling of obligations to a more modern publicizing role.

— Adam Gopnik, New Yorker, 17 Aug. 2026
Lest things get predictable, Tasjan’s adept at letting the music battle with the lyrics in a way that hints at how any experience is far more complex than we are led to believe.

— Marissa R. Moss, Rolling Stone, 17 July 2026

Definition of adept

Noun

His only drum teacher, a Dublin jazz player, briefly tried to show a young Mullen how to play like the virtuoso Steve Gadd.

— Brian Hiatt, Rolling Stone, 28 Sep. 2026
Great virtuosi such as violinist Isaac Stern, pianist Van Cliburn, soprano Leontyne Price and hosts of other incredible artists, both American and from abroad, blessed our concert halls with their dazzling artistry.

— Letters to the Editor, Washington Post, 25 Sep. 2026

Definition of virtuoso

Noun

While Star Wars might be known for laser swords and space wizards, it's always been about weird little dudes doing even weirder things.

— Hayes Madsen, Space.com, 2 Oct. 2026
View gallery - 3 images There was a time when intelligent rings were what your level-three wizard wore in a Dungeons and Dragons campaign.

— New Atlas, New Atlas, 2 Oct. 2026

Definition of wizard

Noun

Dean Martin’s classic Stutz bore the license plate DRUNKY, and early fitness guru Jack LaLanne put REDUCE on his Cadillac’s bumpers.

— Patt Morrison, Los Angeles Times, 29 Sep. 2026
For the occasion Rossi, who launched his brand after years of studying shoemaking under his footwear-guru father Sergio, has retraced the trajectory of his creative process and grouped his designs in a photographic tome published by Rizzoli.

— Sandra Salibian, Footwear News, 24 Sep. 2026

Definition of guru

Noun

That exhibition featured works by Heu Hwang, Kwon Young-woo, Lee Dong-youb, Park Seo-bo, and Suh Seung-won—a group of artists generally considered to have launched Korean monochrome painting, or dansaekhwa, as a movement.

— Barry Schwabsky, Artforum, 1 Oct. 2026
Working with artists gives us the opportunity to see that process through another creative perspective.

— Kanika Talwar, Footwear News, 1 Oct. 2026

Definition of artist

Browse Nearby Words

hots

hotshot

hotshots

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Hotshot.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hotshot. Accessed 7 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of hotshot

noun

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

discreet

Popular in Grammar & Usage

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

Popular in Wordplay

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Bad Endings and Rough Situations

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Popular

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Games & Quizzes