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

When Elon Musk got himself in hot water with the Anti-Defamation League for replying positively to an antisemitic tweet, Shapiro accompanied Musk on a field trip to Auschwitz — a first visit for both. —Seth Abramovitch, The Hollywood Reporter, 13 Jan. 2025

Washing your clothes in hot water may also be helpful. —Korin Miller, Health, 10 Jan. 2025

Its legions of underage users, of course, have landed the company in hot water on several occasions. —Vox Staff, Vox, 10 Jan. 2025

On top of that, tea bags, when exposed to hot water, release microplastics and nanoplastics. —Ivan Terzi, Forbes, 7 Jan. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1840, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

hot water

noun

: a distressing situation : trouble

in hot water for not doing my chores