hɔt adj.,
v., & adv. --adj. (hotter, hottest) 1 a having a relatively or noticeably
high temperature. b (of
food or drink) prepared by
heating and served
without cooling. 2 producing
the sensation of
heat (hot
fever; hot flush). 3 (of
pepper, spices, etc.)
pungent. 4 (of a person)
feeling heat. 5 a
ardent,
passionate, excited. b (often foll. by
for, on)
eager, keen (in hot pursuit). c
angry or
upset. d lustful. e
exciting. 6 a (of
news etc.)
fresh,
recent. b
Brit. colloq. (of
Treasury bills)
newly issued. 7
Hunting (of the scent) fresh and
strong, indicating
that the quarry
has passed recently. 8 a (of a player)
very skilful. b (of a
competitor in a race or
other sporting event) strongly fancied to
win (a hot favourite). c (of a
hit,
return,
etc., in ball games)
difficult for an
opponent to deal
with. 9 (of
music,
esp. jazz) strongly rhythmical and
emotional. 10 sl. a (of goods)
stolen, esp.
easily identifiable and
hence difficult to
dispose of. b (of a person) wanted by the
police. 11 sl.
radioactive. 12 colloq. (of information) unusually
reliable (hot tip). --v. (hotted, hotting) (usu. foll. by up) Brit. colloq. 1 tr. & intr.
make or
become hot. 2 tr. & intr. make or become
active,
lively, exciting, or
dangerous. --adv. 1 angrily, severely (give it
him hot). 2 eagerly. øgo hot and
cold feel alternately hot and cold
owing to
fear etc.
have the hots for sl. be sexually attracted
to. hot
air sl.
empty,
boastful, or excited
talk. hot-air
balloon a balloon (see BALLOON n. 2) consisting of a
bag in
which air is
heated by burners located
below it, causing it to
rise. hot
blast a blast of heated air forced
into a
furnace. hot-blooded ardent, passionate. hot
cathode a cathode heated to
emit electrons. hot
cross bun see BUN. hot
dog n. colloq. a hot
sausage sandwiched in a
soft roll. --int. US sl. expressing
approval. hot flush see
FLUSH(1). hot
gospeller see GOSPELLER. hot line a
direct exclusive line of
communication, esp. for emergencies. hot
metal Printing using
type made from molten metal. hot
money capital transferred at
frequent intervals. hot
potato colloq. a
controversial or
awkward matter or
situation. hot-press n. a press of glazed boards and hot metal plates for smoothing
paper or
cloth or
making plywood. --v.tr. press (paper etc.) in
this. hot
rod a
motor vehicle modified to have
extra power and
speed. hot
seat sl. 1 a
position of difficult
responsibility. 2 the
electric chair. hot-short (of metal)
brittle in
its hot
state (cf. COLD-SHORT). hot
spot 1 a
small region that is relatively hot. 2 a lively or dangerous
place. hot
spring a spring of
naturally hot
water. hot
stuff colloq. 1 a formidably
capable person. 2 an
important person or
thing. 3 a sexually
attractive person. 4 a
spirited, strong-willed, or passionate person. 5 a
book,
film, etc. with a strongly
erotic content. hot-tempered impulsively angry. hot
under the
collar angry,
resentful, or embarrassed. hot
war an
open war, with active hostilities. hot water colloq.
difficulty,
trouble, or
disgrace (be in hot water;
get into hot water). hot-water
bottle (US bag) a
container, usu. made of rubber, filled with hot water, esp. to
warm a
bed. hot well 1 = hot spring. 2 a
reservoir in a condensing
steam engine. hot-wire operated by the
expansion of heated
wire. like hot cakes see
CAKE. make it (or things) hot for a person
persecute a person.
not so hot colloq.
only mediocre. øøhotly adv. hotness n. hottish adj. [OE
hat f. Gmc:
cf. HEAT]