adj. 1 fiery, white-hot, red-hot, piping hot, burning, blistering, scorching, roasting, frying, sizzling, searing, boiling, scalding, steaming, simmering, torrid, sweltering, sultry, heated The hot, molten steel is cast into ingots here During the day it is hot, but it cools down at night. 2 spicy, peppery, sharp, piquant, pungent, biting, acrid She likes very hot food, with plenty of chilli 3 intense, fervent, zealous, ardent, enthusiastic, passionate, fervid, vehement, excited, animated; impetuous, fiery, fierce, inflamed, sharp, violent He had some hot words with the foreman who had dismissed him 4 eager, keen, avid, anxious, burning; intense, fervent, zealous, ardent, enthusiastic, passionate, fervid, vehement, excited, animated, earnest, Slang US gung-ho Desmond set out in hot pursuit of the thief 5 recent, fresh, new, latest, brand-new The hottest gossip is that she is marrying for the seventh time 6 popular, sought-after, commercial, saleable, marketable The publisher believes Zenobia's Memoirs to be the hot property of the year 7 lustful, lecherous, libidinous, lubricous or lubricious, sensual, concupiscent, prurient, licentious, oversexed, sex-crazed, sex-mad, Archaic lickerish, horn-mad, Slang horny, Chiefly Brit randy, US hard up They were really hot, not having been with anyone of the opposite sex for months 8 intense, vivid, striking, bright, brilliant, dazzling, loud That hot pink lipstick looks good with your suntan 9 electrified, live, charged, powered The hot wire connects to the other terminal - I think 10 dangerous, precarious, risky, sensitive, delicate, unstable, touchy, unpredictable The situation is getting a bit too hot to handle
v. 11 hot up. intensify, build up, heighten, increase, worsen, warm up, heat up The environment is hotting up as a political issue