hotshot
noun · adjective · verb
Simple meaning
Someone who is dazzlingly skilled in any field.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
hahshahtSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈhɑʃɑt
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
informal
Someone who is dazzlingly skilled in any field
informal
Someone with exceptional skills in a certain field.
A type of firefighter highly skilled in wildfire firefighting without external support, using basic tools that are backpacked in and manhandled about.
us
A portable device that is used to jump-start an automobile battery, or the electrical output of such a device.
A lethal injection of heroin or another opiate.
adjective
informal
Highly skilled.
informal
Displaying talent.
verb
transitiveslang
To give (somebody) a dose of recreational drugs deliberately laced with poison.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C2 · Proficient (estimated)
- Frequency
- Rare
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Someone who is dazzlingly skilled in any field
Used this way, hotshot is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It turns up most in everyday conversation and social media or informal writing contexts.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Casual
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Playful
- Usage feel
- Casual and conversational
Where it naturally appears
- Everyday conversation
- Social media/informal writing
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Similar Words, What’s the Difference?
Close in meaning, but not always interchangeable.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.