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Dictionary

hot' spot"

1. a country or region where dangerous or difficult political situations exist or may erupt, esp. where a war, revolution, or a belligerent attitude toward other countries exists or may develop: In the 1960s, Vietnam became a hot spot.
2. Informal.any area or place of known danger, intrigue, dissension, or instability.
3. Informal.a nightclub.
4. Photog.an area of a negative or print revealing excessive light on that part of the subject.
5. a section of forest or woods where fires frequently occur.
6. an area hotter than the surrounding surface, as on the shell of a furnace.
7. Physics.an area of abnormally high radioactivity.
8. Geol.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. Cf. plume (def. 10).
9. Genetics.a chromosome site or a section of DNA having a high frequency of mutation or recombination.
10. Vet. Pathol.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. Also,hot'spot".