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

The health inspectors asked the restaurant to repair the hand sink with hot water capable of reaching 100°F prior to re-inspection. —Shambhavi Rimal, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 8 Apr. 2025

The kitchen has gone without a working dishwasher and hot water, preventing proper disinfection, the complaint says. —Julia Marnin, Sacbee.com, 7 Apr. 2025

Locker rooms were crumbling, there was no heat or hot water, or water at all with plumbing turned off when the temperature got too low due to old pipes. —Gayla Cawley, Boston Herald, 3 Apr. 2025

Take a half cup of white sugar and a half cup of warm or hot water and combine in a bowl or pot. —Jason O'Bryan, Robb Report, 22 Mar. 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