hotspot

Noun

hot spot (plural hot spots)

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
   1. A part of a forest fire which is burning actively.
   2. 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...
   3. (nuclear physics) An area of high radioactive contamination.
   4. 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”).
   5. An infected lesion in dogs or other furry mammals caused by excessive itching.

See all 13 meanings of hot spot