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

Inspectors noted problems with hot water, unsafe food temperatures and facility cleanliness. —Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 13 July 2025

Hospital administrators failed to repair a faulty water heater, resulting in a lack of hot water needed to sterilize instruments and for surgery staff to wash their hands. —Scott Schwebke, Oc Register, 12 July 2025

Treat stings by removing tentacles, rinsing with sea water, and soaking in hot water. —Meghan Overdeep, Southern Living, 11 July 2025

Another tenant living upstairs in the same apartment complex with no hot water in her kitchen, electrical sockets that don't work and gaps in her windows. —Nushrat Rahman, Freep.com, 3 July 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1840, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for hot water

• backwater
• bathwater
• blackwater
• breakwater
• deepwater
• edgewater
• feedwater
• floodwater
• freshwater
• granddaughter
• groundwater
• headwater

Kids Definition

hot water

noun

: a distressing situation : trouble

in hot water for not doing my chores