hot water

noun

: a difficult or dangerous situation : trouble entry 1 sense 4
used with in or into
But this poor fellow was always getting into hot water, and if there was a wrong way of doing a thing, was sure to hit upon it.Richard Henry Dana, Jr.
In recent years, comedians have found themselves in hot water for making politically incorrect topics about everything from race to gender.James Hohmann

Examples of hot water in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web There was no hot water at any of the boba shop’s sinks during Wednesday’s inspection. Jacqueline Pinedo, Sacramento Bee, 8 Mar. 2024 The Dolphin Emulator for Nintendo Wii and GameCube got in enough hot water to abandon its plan to launch on Steam, when it was revealed that Dolphin ships with Nintendo’s Wii common key to help circumvent the copyright protection on Wii games. Sean Hollister, The Verge, 27 Feb. 2024 The most recent eruption, on February 8, gushed lava from a fissure nearly two miles long in a similar region as the December eruption, cutting off hot water for thousands of residents. Maya Wei-Haas, Smithsonian Magazine, 21 Feb. 2024 Then, a hot water pipe burst on the street near her building Jan. 17, sending a geyser of hot water and steam into the air. Yuliya Talmazan, NBC News, 8 Feb. 2024 Aquarius January 20 – February 18 Keeping a secret could now get you in hot water. Tarot.com, Baltimore Sun, 5 Feb. 2024 Corals in hot water — again And a hot ocean doesn’t just mean more storms. Alex Harris, Miami Herald, 27 Feb. 2024 Preventing bedbugs can include washing clothes in hot water (preferably at 110 degrees Fahrenheit) and drying them in a commercial dryer for an hour, according to the health department. Jonathan Limehouse, USA TODAY, 24 Feb. 2024 This is not the first time the district has found itself in hot water over its hair policies. Char Adams, NBC News, 21 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'hot water.' 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

1840, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of hot water was in 1840

Dictionary Entries Near hot water

Cite this Entry

“Hot water.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hot%20water. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

hot water

noun
: a distressing situation : trouble
in hot water for not doing my chores

More from Merriam-Webster on hot water

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