Hot — Meaning, Definition & Synonyms

adjective adverb noun verb /ˈhät/

Meaning & Definition of Hot

Hot (adjective)

  1. having a relatively high temperature
  2. capable of giving a sensation of heat or of burning, searing, or scalding
  3. having heat in a degree exceeding normal body heat

Hot (adverb)

  1. hotly
  2. fast, quickly

Hot (noun)

  1. a period of relatively high temperature, a period of heat
  2. one that is hot (such as a hot meal or a horse just after a workout)
  3. strong sexual desire —used with the

Hot (verb)

  1. heat, warm —usually used with up

Hot (adjective) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

  1. having a notably high temperature

    "the casserole, just out of the oven, was too hot to eat"

    similar: ardent, boiling, broiling, burning, fervent, fervid, fiery, piping hot, red, red-hot, roasting, scalding, scorching, searing, sultry, superheated, sweltering, torrid, ultrahot, white-hot
    related: blazing, glowing, igneous, molten, seething, sizzling, heated, overheated, reheated, warmed, snug, toasty, warm, warmish, feverish, flushed, inflamed, canicular, muggy, steamy, summerlike, summery, tropical
    opposite: algid, arctic, bitter, bone-chilling, cold, freezing, frigid, frozen, glacial, ice-cold, iced, icy
    near: chill, chilly, coldish, cool, coolish, nippy, snappy, blizzardly, frosty, snowy, subfreezing, subzero, wintry, chilled, cooled, refrigerated, unheated, benumbed, numb, shivering

  2. being or involving the latest methods, concepts, information, or styles

    "this spring it's the cool shades of lipstick that are hot"

    similar: contemporary, current, designer, mod, modern, modernistic, new, new age, new-fashioned, newfangled, present-day, red-hot, space-age, state-of-the-art, ultramodern, up-to-date, up-to-the-minute
    related: fashionable, happening, in, modish, nouvelle, now, stylish, last, latest, modernized, updated, futuristic, high-tech, latter-day, recent
    opposite: antiquated, archaic, dated, fusty, musty, oldfangled, old-fashioned, old-time, out-of-date, passé
    near: anachronistic, aged, age-old, ancient, antediluvian, hoary, old, venerable, bygone, former, late, olden, past, antique, historic, historical, retro, retrograde, kaput, obsolete, outmoded, outworn, unmodernized, old-world, discarded, disused, moth-eaten, forgotten, remote, ageless, dateless, timeless

  3. enjoying widespread favor or approval

    "was surprised to learn that American jazz has long been hot in Russia"

    similar: big, crowd-pleasing, du jour, faddish, faddy, fashionable, favorite, happening, in, large, modish, pop, popular, popularized, red-hot, vogue, voguish
    related: semipopular, preferred, selected, desirable, liked, wanted, celebrated, famed, famous, noted, notorious, prominent, renowned, well-known, fabled, fabulous, legendary, leading, notable, outstanding, remarkable, important, significant
    opposite: out, unfashionable, unpopular
    near: washed-up, despised, detested, disliked, hated, rejected, insignificant, unimportant, indistinguished, unexceptional, anonymous, nameless, obscure, unknown, inconspicuous

  4. marked by bursts of destructive force or intense activity

    "your hot temper is going to get you in trouble"

    "a hot battle for first place in the American League"

    similar: bang-bang, blood-and-guts, convulsive, cyclonic, explosive, ferocious, fierce, furious, hammer-and-tongs, knock-down, drag-out, paroxysmal, rabid, rough, stormy, tempestuous, tumultuous, turbulent, violent, volcanic
    related: barbarous, brutal, savage, vicious, antagonistic, hostile, aggressive, assertive, bellicose, belligerent, combative, contentious, gladiatorial, pugnacious, quarrelsome, truculent, combustible, volatile, agitated, frantic, frenzied, mad, cataclysmal, destructive, ruinous
    opposite: nonviolent, peaceable, peaceful
    near: calm, halcyon, pacific, serene, tranquil, nonbelligerent, unaggressive

  5. showing urgent desire or interest

    "we were hot to get the baseball game started and wished it would stop raining"

    similar: agog, antsy, anxious, ardent, athirst, avid, bonkers (informal), crazy, desirous, eager, enthused, enthusiastic, excited, gaga, geeked (slang), great, greedy, gung ho, hepped up, hopped-up, hungry, impatient, juiced, keen, nuts, pumped, raring, solicitous, stoked (slang), thirsty, voracious, wild, champing at the bit, chomping at the bit
    related: engaged, interested, happy, hung up, obsessed, ambitious, appetent, covetous, craving, hankering, longing, pining, breathless, restive, restless, amenable, disposed, game, glad, inclined, ready, unreluctant, willing
    opposite: apathetic, indifferent, uneager, unenthusiastic
    near: casual, incurious, insouciant, nonchalant, unconcerned, uninterested, aloof, detached, disinterested, impassive, stolid, halfhearted, lackadaisical, languid, languorous, lukewarm, spiritless, averse, disinclined, hesitant, loath, reluctant, unwilling

  6. sexually attractive

    "my sisters only watched the game because they think the outfielder is hot"

    similar: bodacious, desirable, dishy, luscious, sexy, toothsome
    related: foxy, nubile, hunky, studly (slang), alluring, seductive, sultry, vampish, vampy

  7. feeling or showing anger

    "you don't have to get all hot about it"

    similar: angered, angry, apoplectic, ballistic, cheesed off (chiefly British), choleric, enraged, foaming, fuming, furious, hopping, horn-mad, incensed, indignant, inflamed, infuriate, infuriated, irate, ireful, livid, mad, outraged, rabid, rankled, riled, riley, roiled, shirty (chiefly British), sore, steamed up, steaming, teed off, ticked, wrathful, wroth, bent out of shape, blue in the face, fit to be tied, going crook (Australian & New Zealand), hopping mad, hot under the collar, in a fume, in a huff, in a pet
    related: ranting, raving, stormy, boiling, bristling, bristly, burning, cross, huffy, passionate, seething, sizzling, smoldering, worked up, wrought (up), acrid, acrimonious, antagonistic, antipathetic, bitter, embittered, inimical, malevolent, piqued, rancorous, resentful, spiteful, vengeful, vindictive, virulent, vitriolic, antisocial, cold, cool, disagreeable, disapproving, distant, frigid, icy, ill-tempered, sorehead, sulky, unfriendly, unpleasant, aggravated, annoyed, bearish, bilious, cantankerous, churlish, crabby, cranky, dyspeptic, exasperated, fretful, fussy, grouchy, grumpy, ill-humored, inflammable, irascible, irritable, peevish, perturbed, petulant, put out, quick-tempered, snappish, testy, touchy, argumentative, belligerent, contentious, contrary, disputatious, ornery, pugnacious, quarrelsome, querulous
    opposite: angerless, delighted, pleased
    near: accepting, accommodating, obliging, agreeable, amenable, complaisant, amicable, cordial, friendly, content, happy, satisfied, empathetic, sympathetic, tolerant, understanding, calm, pacific, peaceable, placid, serene, tranquil, unembittered, affable, amiable, easygoing, genial, good-natured, good-tempered, kind, pleasant, sweet

  8. moving, proceeding, or acting with great speed

    "bought a hot new car that should tear up the roadways"

    similar: blistering, breakneck, breathless, brisk, dizzy, fast, fleet, fleet-footed, flying, galloping, hasty, lightning, nippy, quick, rapid, rapid-fire, rattling, snappy, speedy, splitting, swift, whirlwind, zippy, at speed (chiefly British)
    related: expeditious, prompt, ready, accelerated, hastened, hurried, quickened, rushed, breathtaking, energetic, strenuous, strong, vigorous, high-speed, rush, ultrafast, ultrarapid
    opposite: slow
    near: crawling, dallying, dawdling, dillydallying, dragging, laggard, languid, lingering, plodding, poking, poky, slowish, sluggish, unhurried, deliberate, leisurely, measured, dilatory, late, tardy, ultraslow

  9. of the very best kind

    "since you're guilty as hell, you'd better get a hot lawyer"

    similar: A-OK, A1, awesome, bang-up, banner, beautiful, blue-chip, blue-ribbon, boffo, bonny (chiefly British), boss (slang), brag, brave, bully, bumper, capital, choice, classic, cool (slang), corking, crackerjack, cracking, dandy, divine, dope (slang), down (slang), dynamite, excellent, fab, fabulous, famous, fantabulous (slang), fantastic, fine, first-class, first-rate, first-string, five-star, four-star, frontline, gangbusters, gilt-edged, gone (slang), grand, great, groovy, heavenly, high-class, hype (slang), immense, jim-dandy, keen, lovely, marvelous, mean, neat, nifty, noble, number one, numero uno, out-of-sight (slang), par excellence, peachy, peachy keen, phat (slang), prime, primo (slang), prize, prizewinning, quality, radical (slang), righteous (slang), sensational, slick, splendid, stellar, sterling, superb, superior, superlative, supernal, swell, terrific, tip-top, top, top-notch, top-of-the-line, top-shelf, topflight, topping (chiefly British), unsurpassed, wizard (chiefly British), wonderful, out of this world, too much
    related: acceptable, adequate, all right, decent, good, OK, passable, satisfactory, tolerable, better, exceptional, fancy, high-grade, high-test, premium, select, special, superfine, classical, standard, traditional
    opposite: atrocious, awful, execrable, lousy, pathetic, poor, rotten, terrible, vile, wretched
    near: bad, inferior, low-grade, substandard, unsatisfactory, mediocre, middling, second-class, second-rate

  10. having a strong sexual desire

    "he admitted that the nude photos made him hot"

    similar: concupiscent, goatish, horny, hypersexual, itchy, lascivious, lecherous, lewd, libidinous, licentious, lubricious, lustful, oversexed, passionate, randy, salacious, satyric, wanton
    related: aroused, excited, easy, fast, loose, promiscuous, dissipated, dissolute, libertine, corrupt, debased, debauched, decadent, degenerate, degraded, demoralized, depraved, immoral, indecent
    opposite: frigid, undersexed
    near: celibate, chaste, decent, immaculate, modest, moral, pure, virtuous, monastic, monkish, maidenly, virginal, innocent, lily-white, priggish, prim, prudish, puritanical, straitlaced, Victorian

Hot (adverb) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

  1. with great speed

    "workers were working hot and heavy to repair the breach in the levee"

    similar: apace, briskly, chop-chop, double-quick, fast, fleetly, full tilt, hastily, hell-for-leather, lickety-split, posthaste, presto, pronto, quick, quickly, rapidly, snappily, soon, speedily, swift, swiftly, a mile a minute, at full throttle, at full tilt, by leaps and bounds, in a hurry, in short order, like a shot, like gangbusters, like wildfire
    related: immediately, promptly, readily, impetuously, impulsively, rashly, recklessly, abruptly, suddenly, energetically, vigorously
    opposite: slow, slowly
    near: laggardly, lingeringly, ploddingly, sluggishly, deliberately, leisurely, belatedly, delinquently, tardily

Related Entry: Hot (up) (verb)

Hot (up) is a different word from Hot. The synonyms below are for hot (up), not for hot.

  1. to cause to have or give off heat to a moderate degree

    "with a silky Southern drawl, the waitress asked, Want me to hot up that pie?"

    similar: heat, toast, warm
    related: overheat, superheat, reheat, rewarm, thaw, bake, cook, roast, burn, char, fire, parch, scald, scorch, sear
    opposite: chill, cool, refrigerate
    near: freeze, frost, ice, supercool

Related Entry: Hot air (noun)

Hot air is a different word from Hot. The synonyms below are for hot air, not for hot.

  1. boastful speech or writing

    "his taking credit for the rescue was mostly hot air, since the boat was actually saved by the Coast Guard"

    similar: bluster, bombast, brag, braggadocio, bull (slang), cockalorum, fanfaronade, gas, gasconade, grandiloquence, magniloquence, rant, rodomontade
    related: oratory, rhapsody, rhetoric, pomposity, turgidity, wind, bloviation, verbosity, windiness, babble, blab, chatter, drivel, gabble, gibber, gibberish, jabber, prattle, jawing, patter, prating, yammering, egotism, self-conceit, self-importance, swagger, vaunt

  2. language that is impressive-sounding but not meaningful or sincere

    "her campaign promise to fight for the people showed a taste for stale hot air"

    similar: bombast, fustian, gas, grandiloquence, oratory, rhetoric, verbiage, wind
    related: claptrap, drivel, gibberish, hogwash, humbug, jabberwocky, jazz, moonshine, nonsense, affectedness, floweriness, grandiosity, loftiness, pomposity, pretension, pretentiousness, garrulity, garrulousness, verboseness, verbosity, windiness, wordiness

Related Entry: Hot-blooded (adjective)

Hot-blooded is a different word from Hot. The synonyms below are for hot-blooded, not for hot.

  1. having or expressing great depth of feeling

    "after watching the successful defense of Fort McHenry, Francis Scott Key quickly wrote the hot-blooded poem that later became known as The Star-Spangled Banner"

    similar: ardent, blazing, burning, charged, demonstrative, emotional, fervent, fervid, feverish, fiery, flaming, glowing, impassioned, incandescent, intense, passional, passionate, perfervid, red-hot, religious, superheated, torrid, vehement, warm, warm-blooded, on fire
    related: gushing, gushy, maudlin, mawkish, mushy, saccharine, sappy, schmaltzy, sentimental, sloppy, sugary, histrionic, melodramatic, enthusiastic, gung ho, keen, zealous, enamored, infatuated, obsessed, uninhibited, unreserved, unrestrained, frenzied, orgiastic, overemotional, overexcited, overheated
    opposite: cold, cool, dispassionate, emotionless, impassive, unemotional
    near: detached, dry, impersonal, objective, reserved, undemonstrative

Related Entry: Hot-button (adjective)

Hot-button is a different word from Hot. The synonyms below are for hot-button, not for hot.

  1. relating to or causing the expression of opposing opinions

    "the new plan raises a number of hot-button issues that are sure to get voters riled up"

    similar: argumentative, contentious, controversial, disputatious, polemical
    related: delicate, difficult, knotty, problematic, spiny, thorny, ticklish, touchy, tough
    opposite: noncontroversial, safe, uncontroversial
    near: incontestable, incontrovertible, indisputable, indubitable, undeniable, unquestionable, irrefutable, uncontested, undisputed

Related Entry: Hot dog (interjection)

Hot dog is a different word from Hot. The synonyms below are for hot dog, not for hot.

  1. how delightful

    "Hot dog! the child cried, We're going to the circus!"

    similar: glory, ha, hallelujah, hey, hooray, huzzah, wahoo (chiefly West), whee, whoopee, yahoo, yippee
    related: wow, zowie, ooh, gee, gee whiz, gosh
    near: alack, alas, aw, boo

Related Entry: Hot stuff (noun)

Hot stuff is a different word from Hot. The synonyms below are for hot stuff, not for hot.

  1. something very good of its kind

    "it sounds pretty ordinary now, but their music was hot stuff in its time"

    similar: beaut, beauty, bee's knees, cat's meow, corker, crackerjack, daisy, dandy, dilly, doozy, dream, honey, humdinger, hummer, jim-dandy, knockout, lollapalooza, lulu (slang), nifty, peach, pip, pippin, ripper, ripsnorter, snorter, sockdolager, standout, sweetheart, something else
    related: marvel, phenomenon, prodigy, sensation, wonder, catch, crown jewel, diamond, gem, imperial, jewel, pearl, plum, treasure
    near: bust, disappointment, dud, failure, flop, lemon, letdown, loser, stinker, turkey

Related Entry: Hot ticket (noun)

Hot ticket is a different word from Hot. The synonyms below are for hot ticket, not for hot.

  1. a practice or interest that is very popular for a short time

    "the hot ticket this season is the retro look"

    similar: buzz, chic, craze, dernier cri, enthusiasm, fad, fashion, flavor, go, last word, latest, mode, rage, sensation, style, ton, trend, vogue
    related: nine days' wonder, new wave, crush, infatuation, fervor, passion, furor, fuss, hullabaloo, to-do, uproar, bandwagon, crusade, cult, movement, novelty, wrinkle, caprice, fancy, whim
    near: classic, standard

Related Entry: Hot war (noun)

Hot war is a different word from Hot. The synonyms below are for hot war, not for hot.

  1. a state of armed violent struggle between states, nations, or groups

    "fortunately, the cool relationship between the two nations never escalated into a hot war"

    similar: conflagration, conflict, hostilities, war
    related: civil war, cold war, holy war, limited war, police action, world war, action, battle, engagement, skirmish, combat, fighting, warfare
    opposite: peace
    near: demilitarization, demobilization, disarmament, pacification, ceasefire, truce, calm, peacefulness, tranquility

Synonyms, Thesaurus & Another Word for Hot

The most common words with a similar meaning to Hot:

Slang: geeked, stoked, boss, cool, dope, down, fantabulous, gone, hype, out-of-sight, phat, primo
Chiefly British: cheesed off, shirty, at speed, bonny, topping, wizard
Informal: bonkers
Australian & New Zealand: going crook
ardent, boiling, broiling, burning, fervent, fervid, fiery, piping hot, red, red-hot, roasting, scalding, scorching, searing, sultry, superheated, sweltering, torrid, ultrahot, white-hot, contemporary, current, designer, mod, modern, modernistic, new, new age, new-fashioned, newfangled, present-day, space-age, state-of-the-art, ultramodern, up-to-date, up-to-the-minute, big, crowd-pleasing, du jour, faddish

Antonyms & Opposite Words for Hot

Words with the opposite meaning of Hot:

algid, arctic, bitter, bone-chilling, cold, freezing, frigid, frozen, glacial, ice-cold, iced, icy, antiquated, archaic, dated, fusty, musty, oldfangled, old-fashioned, old-time, out-of-date, passé, out, unfashionable, unpopular, nonviolent, peaceable, peaceful, apathetic, indifferent

Related Words for Hot

blazing, glowing, igneous, molten, seething, sizzling, heated, overheated, reheated, warmed, snug, toasty, warm, warmish, feverish, flushed, canicular, muggy, steamy, summerlike, summery, tropical, nouvelle, now, stylish, last, latest, modernized, updated, futuristic

Near Antonyms of Hot

chill, chilly, coldish, cool, coolish, nippy, snappy, blizzardly, frosty, snowy, subfreezing, subzero, wintry, chilled, cooled, refrigerated, unheated, benumbed, numb, shivering, anachronistic, aged, age-old, ancient, antediluvian, hoary, old, venerable, bygone, former

Word Forms of Hot

Inflections: hotter, hottest, hotted, hotting, hots

Derived words: hotness (noun), hottish (adjective)

Origin & Etymology of Hot

Middle English hot, hoot, (northern) hat, going back to Old English hāt, going back to Germanic *haita- (whence also Old Frisian & Old Saxon hēt "having a high temperature, burning," Old High German heiz, Old Norse heitr), of uncertain origin

First known use: before 12th century

Vocabulary Lists & Topics for Hot

Words & Phrases Containing Hot

hot air, hot-blooded, hot button, hot comb, hot corner, hot dog

Frequently Asked Questions about Hot

What does "Hot" mean?

"Hot" means having a relatively high temperature. As an an adjective, an adverb, a noun and a verb, it is defined as: having a relatively high temperature. It has 11 distinct senses.

What is another word for "Hot"?

Other words for "Hot" include ardent, boiling, broiling, burning, fervent, fervid, fiery and piping hot. The best synonym depends on which meaning of "Hot" you intend.

What are different ways to say "Hot"?

There are 553 words and phrases with a similar meaning to "Hot". Common alternatives include ardent, boiling, broiling, burning, fervent, fervid, fiery, piping hot, red and red-hot.

What is a slang word for "Hot"?

Slang words for "Hot" include geeked, stoked, boss, cool, dope and down.

What is the opposite of "Hot"?

Antonyms of "Hot" include algid, arctic, bitter, bone-chilling, cold, freezing, frigid and frozen. Near antonyms include chill, chilly, coldish and cool.

How do you use "Hot" in a sentence?

Examples of "Hot" in a sentence: "the casserole, just out of the oven, was too hot to eat"; "this spring it's the cool shades of lipstick that are hot"; "was surprised to learn that American jazz has long been hot in Russia".

Is "Hot" a noun, verb, or adjective?

"Hot" can be used as an adjective, an adverb, a noun and a verb, depending on the context.

Is "Hot" useful for IELTS, TOEFL, and other English exams?

As an A1-level word, "Hot" is typical of Cambridge A1 Movers (Young Learners), TOEIC Listening & Reading 120+.