hot mess
US/ˌhɑt ˈmɛs/
hot mess noun: a warm meal, usually cooked in a large pot, often similar to a stew or porridge; service of such a heated meal to soldiers.
Noun (1)
hot mess (countable and uncountable, plural hot messes)
- A warm meal, usually cooked in a large pot, often similar to a stew or porridge; service of such a heated meal to soldiers.
- "Smallbones," said the lieutenant, after trying the hot mess before him, and finding that he was still in danger of burning his mouth, "bring me the red-herring."1836 April 29, Frederick Marryat, “Snarleyyow, or the Dog Fiend”, in Arkansas Advocate, volume vii, number 4, Little Rock, AR, page 1
- 1 lb. pemican; ¼ lb. pork; ¾ lb. biscuit; ¼ lb flour or bread dust, to mix with pemican into a hot mess;1852 January 1, F. L. McClintock, “Lieutenant McClintock to Mr. Fegn, Secretary of the Arctic Committee”, in Morning Post, number 24355, London, page 3
Noun (2)
hot mess (plural hot messes)
- A situation or object in a state of extreme disarray.
- The politician's in a hot mess since the women got the vote -- his wife threatened not to vote for his candidate unless he wipes the dishes.1919 November 13, “The Periscope”, in Camden Post-Telegram, number 8134, Camden, NJ, page 5
- We’re a hot mess, this bad-tempered country of ours. More than 40 percent of Republicans are slouching toward full-blown autocracy, favorably disposed, in one poll, toward a presidency unfettered by constitutional checks and balances.2019 December 6, Timothy Egan, “America the Hot Mess”, in The New York Times, →ISSN
- Synonyms:
- train wreck, car crash, dumpster fire, shit show
- A disheveled or unbalanced person, particularly one who is nevertheless, or therefore, attractive.
- My hair had two months of roots exposed. My brows were overgrown. I was a hot mess. And I was fat.2003, Karyn Bosnak, Save Karyn: One Shopaholic's Journey to Debt and Back, page 271
- "Girl, you're a hot mess, but we're cool," she assured her, but her next words were a warning. "But you really need to stop blurting out the first thing that comes to your mind..."2005, Desiree Day, Crazy Love, page 72
- Trouble.
- I'm in a hot mess.
Examples of hot mess in a sentence
- He provided for a hot mess and he got the men up off the floor with improvised bunks.1974, Langdon Sully, No Tears for the General: The Life of Alfred Sully, 1821-1879, page 119:
- Well, you're a hot mess and I'm falling for you, and I'm like hot damn, let me make you my boo, […] You're a hot mess, I'm loving it, hell yes!2009, Cobra Starship, Hot Mess (song on the album Hot Mess)
Synonyms of hot mess
Forms of hot mess
| plural | hot messes |
|---|
Origin of hot mess
hot (“warm”) + mess (“meal; soldiers who eat together”).
hot (“uncomfortable”) or hot (“attractive”) + mess (“disarray”).
Questions about hot mess
- What does hot mess mean?
- Hot mess means a warm meal, usually cooked in a large pot, often similar to a stew or porridge; service of such a heated meal to soldiers.
- How do you use hot mess in a sentence?
- He provided for a hot mess and he got the men up off the floor with improvised bunks.
- What part of speech is hot mess?
- Hot mess is a noun.
- How do you pronounce hot mess?
- Hot mess is pronounced /ˌhɑt ˈmɛs/ (US).
- What is the plural of hot mess?
- The plural of hot mess is hot messes.
Words near hot mess in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: hot mess (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-au-hot mess.ogg.
Cite this entry: “hot mess.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/hot_mess. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.