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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

hot.

Relating to heat and conditions which produce it.

3 characters1 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

adj/hɒt/Received-Pronunciation/hɔt/British, Southern, Standard/hɑt/General-American/hɒt/Canada
  1. Relating to heat and conditions which produce it. Having or giving off a high temperature.

    He forgot that the frying pan was hot and burned his hand.
    It is too hot to be outside.
  2. Relating to heat and conditions which produce it. Feeling the sensation of heat, especially to the point of discomfort.

    I was so hot from being in the sun too long.
    Aren't you hot with that thick coat on?
  3. Relating to heat and conditions which produce it. Feverish; feeling a high fever.

  4. Active, in use or ready for use (like a bullet or a firing range), turned on (like a microphone or camera).

  5. Active, in use or ready for use (like a bullet or a firing range), turned on (like a microphone or camera). Electrically charged.

    US · not-comparable
    a hot wire
  6. Active, in use or ready for use (like a bullet or a firing range), turned on (like a microphone or camera). Radioactive.

    informal
  7. Active, in use or ready for use (like a bullet or a firing range), turned on (like a microphone or camera). In active use at or near capacity.

    figuratively
    We need to keep the old drone production line going while it's still hot, or it'll be difficult to restart it.
  8. Relating to excited emotions. Easily provoked to anger.

    figuratively
    Be careful, he has a hot temper and may take it out on you.
  9. Relating to excited emotions. Physically or sexually attractive.

    colloquial · figuratively
    He saw many hot girls at the concert.
    That stripper is hot!
  10. Relating to excited emotions. Sexual or sexy; involving sexual intercourse or sexual excitement.

    colloquial · figuratively
  11. Relating to excited emotions. Sexually aroused; randy.

    figuratively · slang
    Enough foreplay! You’ve gotten me so hot already!
  12. Relating to excited emotions. Extremely attracted to.

    figuratively · slang
    hot for her English teacher
  13. Relating to popularity, quality, or the state of being interesting. Very good, remarkable, exciting.

    informal
    He's a hot young player; we should give him a trial.
  14. Relating to popularity, quality, or the state of being interesting. Popular; in demand.

    This new pickup is so hot we can't keep it in stock!
  15. Relating to popularity, quality, or the state of being interesting. Of great current interest; provoking current debate or controversy.

    a hot topic
  16. Relating to popularity, quality, or the state of being interesting. Performing strongly; having repeated successes.

  17. Relating to popularity, quality, or the state of being interesting. Fresh; just released.

  18. Relating to popularity, quality, or the state of being interesting. Frequently executed.

    Optimise hot code paths first.
  19. Relating to danger or risk. Uncomfortable, difficult to deal with; awkward, dangerous, unpleasant.

  20. Relating to danger or risk. Characterized by police presence or activity.

    slang
    I wouldn't speed through here if I was you. This area is hot this time of night.
  21. Relating to danger or risk. Stolen.

    slang
    hot merchandise
  22. Relating to danger or risk. Not covered by funds on account.

    not-comparable · slang
    I wouldn't trust him. He gave me a hot check last week.
  23. Relating to danger or risk. Containing drugs.

    slang
    The solider was discharged from the military after he pissed hot for cocaine.
  24. Very close to finding or guessing something to be found or guessed.

    Am I warm yet? — You're hot!
    He was hot on her tail.
  25. Spicy, pungent, piquant, as some chilis and other spices are.

    This kind of chili pepper is way too hot for my taste.
  26. Loud, producing a strong electric signal for the amplifier or other sound equipment.

  27. Used to emphasize the short duration or small quantity of something

    slang
    He was finished in a hot minute.
    I dated him for a hot second.
  28. Extremely fast or with great speed.

    slang
    That plane's coming in hot!
    a hot pass
Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *keHy- Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁- Proto-Indo-European *-eti Proto-Indo-European *-dʰh₁eti Proto-Indo-European *-dʰeti Proto-Indo-European *kéHidʰeti Proto-Indo-European *kéHidos Proto-Germanic *haitaz Proto-West Germanic *hait Old English hāt Middle English hot English hot From Middle English hot, hoot, from Old English hāt (“hot”), from Proto-West Germanic *hait, from Proto-Germanic *haitaz (“hot”), from Proto-Indo-European *keHy- (“to heat; to become hot”). Cognates Cognate with Yola hoat, hoate, hote (“hot”), West Frisian hjit, hyt (“hot”), Bavarian hoaß (“hot”), Central Franconian heeß (“hot”), Dutch heet (“hot”), German heiss, heiß, heyß (“hot”), Vilamovian haas, haes, hȧś, hǡs (“hot”), Yiddish הייס (heys, “hot”), Danish hed (“hot”), Faroese and Icelandic heitur (“hot”), Norwegian Bokmål and Swedish het (“hot”); also Lithuanian kaitra (“heat”). Related to heat. Superseded non-native Middle English chaud, from Old French chaut (“hot”); and early Modern English calent, from Latin calēns (“hot”).

adv/hɒt/Received-Pronunciation/hɔt/British, Southern, Standard/hɑt/General-American/hɒt/Canada
  1. Hotly; at a high temperature.

  2. Rapidly, quickly.

  3. While shooting, while firing one's weapon(s).

    to come in hot; to go in hot
Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *keHy- Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁- Proto-Indo-European *-eti Proto-Indo-European *-dʰh₁eti Proto-Indo-European *-dʰeti Proto-Indo-European *kéHidʰeti Proto-Indo-European *kéHidos Proto-Germanic *haitaz Proto-West Germanic *hait Old English hāt Middle English hot English hot From Middle English hot, hoot, from Old English hāt (“hot”), from Proto-West Germanic *hait, from Proto-Germanic *haitaz (“hot”), from Proto-Indo-European *keHy- (“to heat; to become hot”). Cognates Cognate with Yola hoat, hoate, hote (“hot”), West Frisian hjit, hyt (“hot”), Bavarian hoaß (“hot”), Central Franconian heeß (“hot”), Dutch heet (“hot”), German heiss, heiß, heyß (“hot”), Vilamovian haas, haes, hȧś, hǡs (“hot”), Yiddish הייס (heys, “hot”), Danish hed (“hot”), Faroese and Icelandic heitur (“hot”), Norwegian Bokmål and Swedish het (“hot”); also Lithuanian kaitra (“heat”). Related to heat. Superseded non-native Middle English chaud, from Old French chaut (“hot”); and early Modern English calent, from Latin calēns (“hot”).

verb/hɒt/Received-Pronunciation/hɔt/British, Southern, Standard/hɑt/General-American/hɒt/Canada
  1. To heat; to make or become hot.

  2. To become lively or exciting.

Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *keHy- Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁- Proto-Indo-European *-eti Proto-Indo-European *-dʰh₁eti Proto-Indo-European *-dʰeti Proto-Indo-European *kéHidʰeti Proto-Indo-European *kéHidos Proto-Germanic *haitaz Proto-West Germanic *hait Old English hāt Middle English hot English hot From Middle English hot, hoot, from Old English hāt (“hot”), from Proto-West Germanic *hait, from Proto-Germanic *haitaz (“hot”), from Proto-Indo-European *keHy- (“to heat; to become hot”). Cognates Cognate with Yola hoat, hoate, hote (“hot”), West Frisian hjit, hyt (“hot”), Bavarian hoaß (“hot”), Central Franconian heeß (“hot”), Dutch heet (“hot”), German heiss, heiß, heyß (“hot”), Vilamovian haas, haes, hȧś, hǡs (“hot”), Yiddish הייס (heys, “hot”), Danish hed (“hot”), Faroese and Icelandic heitur (“hot”), Norwegian Bokmål and Swedish het (“hot”); also Lithuanian kaitra (“heat”). Related to heat. Superseded non-native Middle English chaud, from Old French chaut (“hot”); and early Modern English calent, from Latin calēns (“hot”).

noun/hɒt/Received-Pronunciation/hɔt/British, Southern, Standard/hɑt/General-American/hɒt/Canada
  1. A hot meal, usually in the phrase "three hots" (i.e. three hot meals per day) or derivations such as three hots and a cot.

Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *keHy- Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁- Proto-Indo-European *-eti Proto-Indo-European *-dʰh₁eti Proto-Indo-European *-dʰeti Proto-Indo-European *kéHidʰeti Proto-Indo-European *kéHidos Proto-Germanic *haitaz Proto-West Germanic *hait Old English hāt Middle English hot English hot From Middle English hot, hoot, from Old English hāt (“hot”), from Proto-West Germanic *hait, from Proto-Germanic *haitaz (“hot”), from Proto-Indo-European *keHy- (“to heat; to become hot”). Cognates Cognate with Yola hoat, hoate, hote (“hot”), West Frisian hjit, hyt (“hot”), Bavarian hoaß (“hot”), Central Franconian heeß (“hot”), Dutch heet (“hot”), German heiss, heiß, heyß (“hot”), Vilamovian haas, haes, hȧś, hǡs (“hot”), Yiddish הייס (heys, “hot”), Danish hed (“hot”), Faroese and Icelandic heitur (“hot”), Norwegian Bokmål and Swedish het (“hot”); also Lithuanian kaitra (“heat”). Related to heat. Superseded non-native Middle English chaud, from Old French chaut (“hot”); and early Modern English calent, from Latin calēns (“hot”).

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.