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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

hotshot.

Highly skilled.

7 characters2 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

adj/ˈhɒtˌʃɒt/

  1. Highly skilled.

    informal
    He was a hotshot lawyer, with an astounding win-loss record.

  2. Displaying talent.

    informal
    Keep up those hotshot baskets, and the scouts are sure to take notice.
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 English shot English hotshot From hot + shot.

noun/ˈhɒtˌʃɒt/

  1. Someone with exceptional skills in a certain field.

    informal
    She sure was a hotshot on the keyboard, 93 words per minute!

  2. A type of firefighter highly skilled in wildfire firefighting without external support, using basic tools that are backpacked in and manhandled about.

  3. A portable device that is used to jump-start an automobile battery, or the electrical output of such a device.

    US

  4. A fast freight train.

    US

  5. A dose of recreational drugs deliberately laced with poison.

    slang

  6. A lethal injection of heroin or another opiate.

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 English shot English hotshot From hot + shot.

verb/ˈhɒtˌʃɒt/

  1. To give (somebody) a dose of recreational drugs deliberately laced with poison.

    slang · transitive
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 English shot English hotshot From hot + shot.

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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.