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Dictionary

Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

hot spot en · NOUN

Pronunciation

  • /ˈhɒtˌspɒt/ (Received-Pronunciation)
  • /ˈhɑtˌspɑt/ (General-American)
  • (General-American) audio

Etymology

From hot + spot.

Meanings

  1. A location which has a higher temperature or amount of radiation than surrounding areas.
    • [Y]our microwave may have an area in which more energy is concentrated. To test for a hot spot, place sliced white bread across the bottom of your microwave, so that the slices are touching, forming a solid layer. 2003, Nancy Berkoff, Vegan Microwave Cookbook, page 13:
  2. A location which has a higher temperature or amount of radiation than surrounding areas. ▸ A part of a forest fire which is burning actively.
  3. A location which has a higher temperature or amount of radiation than surrounding areas. ▸ The surface manifestation of a plume of molten material that rises from deep in a celestial body's mantle.
    • While researchers can see the path that Yellowstone burned as the hot spot migrated from Oregon across Idaho and into Wyoming, discerning one eruption from another has been a chore as most volcanic deposits are scattered across vast landscapes in a chaotic jumble. 2020 June 18, Matt Kaplan, “Yellowstone’s supervolcano is a hot spot, but it may be calming down”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 21 Apr 2021:
  4. (qualifier:nuclear physics) A location which has a higher temperature or amount of radiation than surrounding areas. ▸ An area of high radioactive contamination.
  5. A location which has a higher temperature or amount of radiation than surrounding areas. ▸ Synonym of heiligenschein (“an optical phenomenon which creates a bright spot around the shadow of the viewer's head, when the surface on which the shadow falls has special optical characteristics”).
  6. A location which has a higher temperature or amount of radiation than surrounding areas. ▸ An infected lesion in dogs or other furry mammals caused by excessive itching.
  7. (figuratively) A place notable for a high level of activity or danger.
    • Great guns! messmates, but if Flint was living, this would be a hot spot for you and me. Six they were, and six are we; and bones is what they are now. 1881–1882, Robert Louis Stevenson, “The Treasure Hunt—Flint’s Pointer”, in Treasure Island, London; Paris: Cassell & Company, published 14 November 1883, →OCLC, part VI (Captain Silver), page 265:
    • For instance, Toronto's Bloor Street Viaduct was, alas, a suicide hotspot – in fact, it was second only to the Golden Gate Bridge in terms of the number of bridge-related suicides. 2010, Thomas [Ellis] Joiner[, Jr.], “Suicidal Behavior”, in Myths about Suicide, Cambridge, Mass.; London: Harvard University Press, →ISBN, page 154:
    • I might never have learned my name or met my birth family if I hadn't ended up in the hospital in Rhode Island in 2007, after traveling to a trifecta of malaria hotspots: Mali, Egypt and Colombia. 2013 November 27, Emily Jane O’Dell, “Deep cover [print version: International Herald Tribune Magazine, 2013, page 47]”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 09 Dec 2013:
  8. (figuratively) A place notable for a high level of activity or danger. ▸ A dangerous place of violent political unrest.
  9. (figuratively) A place notable for a high level of activity or danger. ▸ A lively and entertaining place, such as a nightclub.
    • It has been reported that an entertainment took place not long ago in a certain "hot spot" in New York City, and it has been charged that members of the Federal Communications Commission were present; that they got into a drunken brawl; and in the brawl some woman was hurt, her arm twisted. 1940 June 21, Charles W[illiam] Tobey, “Further Statement of Thad H. Brown, Commissioner, Federal Communications Commission, Washington, D.C.”, in Nomination of Thad H. Brown: Hearings before the Committee on Interstate Commerce, United States Senate, Seventy-sixth Congress, Third Session on the Nomination of Thad H. Brown on Reappointment as Federal Communications Commissioner […], Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office, →OCLC, page 81:
  10. (figuratively) A place notable for a high level of activity or danger. ▸ A part of an application that consumes a significant amount of execution time.
  11. (figuratively) A place notable for a high level of activity or danger. ▸ A part of a control (“an interactive interface element”) that responds dynamically as a user moves a pointer over it (for example, a part of an image map that contains a hyperlink which can be clicked on with a cursor).
  12. (Internet, figuratively) A place notable for a high level of activity or danger. ▸ A location in which Wi-Fi Internet access is available.
  13. (abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis, figuratively) A place notable for a high level of activity or danger. ▸ Ellipsis of biodiversity hotspot (“a place with a significant level of biodiversity, particularly if the flora and fauna are threatened with loss of their habitat”).
  14. (figuratively) A place notable for a high level of activity or danger. ▸ The region of a gene in which there is a higher than normal rate of mutation.

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
hotspot alternative lexicographic
hot spots Number=Plur lexicographic

Antonyms

notspot

Deriveds

biodiversity hotspot · notspot

Synonyms

flash point · heiligenschein · trouble spot

Translations (51)

fi yhteyspiste (location in which Wi-Fi Internet access is available) · pt ponto de acesso (location in which Wi-Fi Internet access is available) · id titik panas (part of a forest fire which is burning actively) · ka უსადენო ქსელი (location in which Wi-Fi Internet access is available) · es área caliente (location which has a higher temperature or amount of radiation than surrounding areas) · fi kuuluvuusalue (location in which Wi-Fi Internet access is available) · ca punt calent (surface manifestation of a plume that rises from deep in a celestial body’s mantle) · ru точка доступа (location in which Wi-Fi Internet access is available) · ms kawasan khas (location in which Wi-Fi Internet access is available) · cmn 熱點 /热点 (location in which Wi-Fi Internet access is available) · it punto caldo (location which has a higher temperature or amount of radiation than surrounding areas) · fi menomesta (lively and entertaining place) · ru горя́чая то́чка (surface manifestation of a plume that rises from deep in a celestial body’s mantle) · es punto caliente (location which has a higher temperature or amount of radiation than surrounding areas) · fi laskeuma-alue (area of high radioactive contamination) · ka უსადენო კავშირის ზონა (location in which Wi-Fi Internet access is available) · it zona calda (dangerous place of violent political unrest) · id titik panas (place notable for a high level of activity or danger) · cy llecyn Wi-Fi (location in which Wi-Fi Internet access is available) · fi kuuma kohta (surface manifestation of a plume that rises from deep in a celestial body’s mantle) · id titik panas (location which has a higher temperature or amount of radiation than surrounding areas) · fr point chaud (surface manifestation of a plume that rises from deep in a celestial body’s mantle) · ru горя́чая то́чка (dangerous place of violent political unrest) · ms tompok panas (location which has a higher temperature or amount of radiation than surrounding areas) · ja ホットスポット (surface manifestation of a plume that rises from deep in a celestial body’s mantle) · es locus caliente (location which has a higher temperature or amount of radiation than surrounding areas) · pl hotspot (location in which Wi-Fi Internet access is available) · de Hotspot (surface manifestation of a plume that rises from deep in a celestial body’s mantle) · sv uppkopplingszon (location in which Wi-Fi Internet access is available) · ka მობილური უსადენო ქსელი (location in which Wi-Fi Internet access is available) · myv пизэке (place notable for a high level of activity or danger) · mi wāhi hono ipurangi (location in which Wi-Fi Internet access is available) · ms tompok panas (place notable for a high level of activity or danger) · cmn 熱點 /热点 (surface manifestation of a plume that rises from deep in a celestial body’s mantle) · ms titik panas (region of a gene in which there is a higher than normal rate of mutation) · es zona caliente (location which has a higher temperature or amount of radiation than surrounding areas) · es punto de acceso (location in which Wi-Fi Internet access is available) · mk пристапно место (location in which Wi-Fi Internet access is available) · fi ruutitynnyri (dangerous place of violent political unrest) · de Hotspot (location in which Wi-Fi Internet access is available) · fi kriisipesäke (dangerous place of violent political unrest) · fi pesäke (place notable for a high level of activity or danger) · sv oroshärd (dangerous place of violent political unrest) · sv surfzon (location in which Wi-Fi Internet access is available) · ms tompok panas (part of a forest fire which is burning actively) · nb varmepunkt (surface manifestation of a plume that rises from deep in a celestial body’s mantle) · ka Wi-Fi უსადენო კავშირის ზონა (location in which Wi-Fi Internet access is available) · ru хотспот (location in which Wi-Fi Internet access is available) · fi kuuma piste (surface manifestation of a plume that rises from deep in a celestial body’s mantle) · it punto caldo (place notable for a high level of activity or danger) · es rodal caliente (location which has a higher temperature or amount of radiation than surrounding areas)