hotshot
adjective
noun Also hot shot (for defs 4, 6).
Words nearby hotshot
VOCAB BUILDER
What does hotshot mean?
A hotshot is someone who’s highly talented and successful in a particular field, especially someone who’s cocky about it.
Hotshot can also be used as an adjective to describe such a person. When it’s used as an adjective, it typically modifies a noun that refers to a person’s profession or position, as in hotshot programmer and hotshot quarterback.
Example: I heard they brought in some hotshot lawyer to take over the case.
Where does hotshot come from?
The first records of hotshot come from the late 1500s. The word originally referred to a hothead, especially one itching to shoot a gun due to anger. Later, the word was used as a slang term for an express train. In the 1920s and 1930s, the term gained popularity as a word for highly skilled athletes or talented people in other professions.
People who are very talented can get a little obnoxious, and this is often what hotshot implies: hotshots are good and they know it. And they’ll let you know it, too—hotshots love to show off their skill. The word is especially applied to young people who have achieved unusual success for their age. It’s especially used in situations in which such a person challenges a person who’s more experienced and more established in a particular field or position. A lot of movies have this exact premise. The hotshot pilot who’s a bit dangerous. The hotshot attorney who’s going to change the system. The hotshot rookie who learns a thing or two from the wily veteran.
Did you know ... ?
How is hotshot used in real life?
Hotshot is typically used in at least a mildly negative way to imply that such a person is overly confident or maybe isn’t as good as they think they are. It’s most negative when it’s used to address someone directly, as in Let’s see you try to do it, hotshot!
50 years from now, some young hotshot will release an entire album covering Michael Buble covers #UnusualMichaelBubleCovers
— TrivWorks (@TrivWorks) December 13, 2018
With a name like AJ Clemente you can either be an anchor or a hotshot pitcher. No other career options.
— Dave Weigel (@daveweigel) April 22, 2013
Try using hotshot!
Which of the following people is most likely to be described as a hotshot?
A. a brash attorney who wins every case
B. a cocky young basketball star
C. a whiz-kid programmer who talks a big game and backs it up
D. all of the above
Example sentences from the Web for hotshot
But, the hotshot billionaire may have some secrets of his own.
Whip is a hotshot, sauced-up captain whose substance-abuse habit crash-lands him, quite literally, into a whole heap of trouble.
Only Diana was canny enough to hire a hotshot divorce lawyer and extract an unprecedented £17 million settlement.