hot

Universal Words adjective, verb adjective (hotter, hottest) temperature 1 having a high temperature; producing heat: Do you like this hot weather? * It's hot today, isn't it? * It was hot and getting hotter. * It was the hottest July on record. * a hot dry summer * Be careful-the plates are hot. * All rooms have hot and cold water. * a hot bath * a hot meal (= one that has been cooked) * I couldn't live in a hot country (= one which has high average temperatures). * Cook in a very hot oven. * Eat it while it's hot. * I touched his forehead. He felt hot and feverish. seealsoBAKINGHOT, BOILINGHOT, PIPINGHOT, RED-HOT, WHITE-HOT 2 (of a person) feeling heat in an unpleasant or uncomfortable way: Is anyone too hot? * I feel hot. * Her cheeks were hot with embarrassment. 3 making you feel hot: London was hot and dusty. * a long hot journey food 4 containing pepper and spices and producing a burning feeling in your mouth: hot spicy food * You can make a curry hotter simply by adding chillies. * hot mustard OPPMILD causing strong feelings 5 involving a lot of activity, argument or strong feelings: Today we enter the hottest phase of the election campaign. * The environment has become a very hot issue. * Competition is getting hotter day by day. difficult / dangerous 6 difficult or dangerous to deal with and making you feel worried or uncomfortable: When things got too hot most journalists left the area. * They're making life hot for her. popular 7 (informal) new, exciting and very popular: This is one of the hottest clubs in town. * They are one of this year's hot new bands on the rock scene. * The couple are Hollywood's hottest property. news 8 fresh, very recent and usually exciting: I've got some hot gossip for you! * a story that is hot off the press (= has just appeared in the newspapers) tip / favourite 9 [onlybeforenoun] likely to be successful: She seems to be the hot favourite for the job. * Do you have any hot tips for today's race? good at sth / knowing a lot 10 [notbeforenoun] ~ at / on sth (informal) very good at doing sth; knowing a lot about sth: Don't ask me-I'm not too hot on British history. anger 11 if sb has a hot temper they become angry very easily sexual excitement 12 feeling or causing sexual excitement: You were as hot for me as I was for you. * I've got a hot date tonight. shocking / critical 13 containing scenes, statements, etc. that are too shocking or too critical and are likely to cause anger or disapproval: Some of the nude scenes were regarded as too hot for Broadway. * The report was highly critical of senior members of the Cabinet and was considered too hot to publish. seealsoHOTSTUFF strict 14 [notbeforenoun] ~ on sth thinking that sth is very important and making sure that it always happens or is done: They're very hot on punctuality at work. music 15 (of music, especially jazz) having a strong and exciting rhythm goods 16 stolen and difficult to get rid of because they can easily be recognized: I'd never have touched those CDs if I'd known they were hot. in children's games 17 [notbeforenoun] used in children's games to say that the person playing is very close to finding a person or thing, or to guessing the correct answer: You're getting hot! IDIOMS be in / get into hot water (informal) to be in or get into trouble go hot and cold to experience a sudden feeling of fear or anxiety: When the phone rang I just went hot and cold. go / sell like hot cakes to sell quickly or in great numbers (all) hot and bothered (informal) in a state of anxiety or confusion because you are under too much pressure, have a problem, are trying to hurry, etc. hot on sb's / sth's heels following sb/sth very closely: He turned and fled with Peter hot on his heels. * Further successes came hot on the heels of her first best-selling novel. hot on sb's / sth's tracks / trail (informal) close to catching or finding the person or thing that you have been chasing or searching for hot under the collar (informal) angry or embarrassed: He got very hot under the collar when I asked him where he'd been all day. in hot pursuit (of sb) following sb closely and determined to catch them: She sped away in her car with journalists in hot pursuit. not so / too hot 1 not very good in quality: Her spelling isn't too hot. 2 not feeling well: 'How are you today?' 'Not so hot, I'm afraid.' moreatBLOWv., CAT, HEELn., STRIKEv. verb (-tt-) PHRASALVERBS hot up (BrE) (also heat up AmE, BrE) (informal) to become more exciting or to show an increase in activity: Things are really hotting up in the election campaign. * The title race is certainly hotting up. * The pace is hotting up.