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

Roast on salt rocks, soak in hot water and shed your skin (Wi Spa) Advertisement Los Angeles has a rich Korean bathhouse culture. —Deborah Vankin, Los Angeles Times, 1 Jan. 2025

Step 3: Rinse with hot water Photo: SBenitez/Getty Images Run hot water from your faucet, then turn on the garbage disposal until the mixture and food particles have washed away. —Julia Mitchem, Architectural Digest, 30 Dec. 2024

Jan Koum Net Worth: $16.4 billion Koum grew up in a house without hot water in a rural village near Kiev, Ukraine. —Monica Hunter-Hart, Forbes, 28 Dec. 2024

When these interact with hot water, they can get released into the tea and end up being drunk. —Josh Hammer, Newsweek, 23 Dec. 2024

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