- a country or region where dangerous or difficult political situations exist or may erupt, especially where a war, revolution, or a belligerent attitude toward other countries exists or may develop: In the 1960s, Vietnam became a hot spot.
- any area or place of known danger, intrigue, dissension, or instability.
- a nightclub.
- an area of a negative or print revealing excessive light on that part of the subject.
- a section of forest or woods where fires frequently occur.
- an area hotter than the surrounding surface, as on the shell of a furnace.
- a place where users of portable computers or mobile devices can get wireless broadband access to the internet or another network: how to find free Wi-Fi hot spots.
- an area of abnormally high radioactivity.
- a region of molten rock below and within the lithosphere that persists long enough to leave a record of uplift and volcanic activity at the earth's surface.
- a chromosome site or a section of DNA having a high frequency of mutation or recombination.
- a moist, raw sore on the skin of a dog or cat caused by constant licking of an irritation from an allergic reaction, tangled coat, fleas, etc.
- to stop (a forest fire) at a hot spot.
- an area of potential violence or political unrest
- a lively nightclub or other place of entertainment
- an area of great activity of a specific type
- any local area of high temperature in a part of an engine, etc
- part of the inlet manifold of a paraffin engine that is heated by exhaust gases to vaporize the fuel
- a place where wireless internet, esp broadband, services are provided to users of portable computers through a wireless local area network, such as in an airport, railway station, or library
- med
- a small area on the surface of or within a body with an exceptionally high concentration of radioactivity or of some chemical or mineral considered harmful
- a similar area that generates an abnormal amount of heat, as revealed by thermography
- a part of a chromosome that has a tendency for mutation or recombination
