hot-wire
verb
hot-wire is spelled H-O-T-W-I-R-E: 7 letters. As a verb, hot-wire means “To wire, especially to a power supply, using a makeshift electrical connection” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in hot-wire?
| Letters | 7: H-O-T-W-I-R-E |
|---|---|
| In writing | a phrase: the frequency list counts single words |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce hot-wire?
- Australia
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-au-hot-wire.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with hot-wire
Also written: hotwire (one word or two).
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
Forms of hot-wire
- hot-wires present, singular, he/she/it
- hot-wiring participle, present
- hot-wired participle, past
- hotwire
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does hot-wire mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
informalTo wire, especially to a power supply, using a makeshift electrical connection.
I bypassed the switch and hot-wired the circuit board to the power supply.
- 2
informalIn particular, to start (an automobile engine) by bypassing the ignition key wiring, especially in order to steal the vehicle.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Hot-wire in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense hot-wire:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | kurzschließen |
| Spanish | hacer un puente, hacer puente, arrancar haciendo puente, puentear, arrancar puenteando |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does hot-wire come from?
From hot + wire, with hot referring to electrical current.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).