hot rod

noun

: an automobile rebuilt or modified for high speed and fast acceleration

Examples of hot rod in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Here are five things to do for the weekend of March 1-3 Detroit Autorama The 71st annual Meguiar’s Detroit Autorama is set to display more than 800 hot rods, customs vehicles, unique trucks, and motorcycles from around the world. Brendel Hightower, Detroit Free Press, 1 Mar. 2024 Close to 50 classic cars and hot rods were also on display for attendees to view. Annika Bahnsen, Orange County Register, 5 Feb. 2024 In the early days, steelworkers toiled in extreme heat, catching steel hot rods with cotton gloves and tongs. Judith Prieve, The Mercury News, 20 Jan. 2024 His Esquire feature on hot rods, for instance, the piece that brought him to prominence, is more than just the first major showcase for his pyrotechnic prose or an informative and engaging look at youth car culture. Seyward Darby, Longreads, 9 Jan. 2024 Spider Custom Cars will have its hot rods and classics out there all weekend, and beloved mascot S.J. Sharkie will be swimming around for photo ops from 1 to 2 p.m. Sunday, which is Family Day. Sal Pizarro, The Mercury News, 15 Feb. 2024 That was the elapsed time between her professional debut in The Investigation on the Boston stage and her commercial breakout in movies shooting a heavy-petting scene in the back seat of a hot rod with Jeff Conaway. Sue Reilly, Peoplemag, 13 Feb. 2024 Further Reading 2022 iPhone SE review: Revving up a classic hot rod The report claims that the iPhone 14 will serve as the basic template for the next iPhone SE, like the iPhone 8 has served as the template for the last two SE refreshes. Andrew Cunningham, Ars Technica, 28 Sep. 2023 Romero, who works as a project coordinator with the Economic and Workforce Development Department, invited the public to display classic hot rods as a way to get more families involved and support businesses along First Street. Sarahi Apaez, Los Angeles Times, 23 Oct. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'hot rod.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1943, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of hot rod was in 1943

Dictionary Entries Near hot rod

Cite this Entry

“Hot rod.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hot%20rod. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

hot rod

noun
: an automobile rebuilt or changed for high speed and fast acceleration

More from Merriam-Webster on hot rod

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