hot streak

English

Noun

hot streak (plural hot streaks)

1. A run of exceptionally good luck or performance.

   Jace was on a hot streak at the casino, winning five times in a row on the roulette wheel.

   • 1930 January 29, “Bucs to Play in Twin Bill Tonight”, in Moberly Monitor-Index, volume 11, number 179, Moberly, M.O.: Moberly Index Printing Company, →OCLC, page 6, column 1:

     The local collegians played the Trenton school on the foreign court two weeks ago, and after holding the lead through the game, the Trenton team got a hot streak in the last minutes of play and tossed several long shots through the ring for a 16-12 windup in the favor.

   • 1984, Stephen King, Peter Straub, The Talisman, New York, N.Y.: Viking, →ISBN, page 225:

     Wolf had a faster pump than a slot-machine player on a hot streak.

   • 2012, Charles Duhigg, The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business, New York, N.Y.: Random House, →ISBN, page 267:

     At about six in the morning, she hit a hot streak and her piles of chips began to grow. A crowd gathered. She did a quick tally: not quite enough to pay off the notes she had signed, but if she kept playing smart, she would come out on top, and then quit for good.

   • 2023 November 6, Kim McGrath, quoting Erik Nesson, “Q&A: 'Hot hand' in sports is real, but there's a catch”, in Phys.org‎^[1], archived from the original on 2024-01-09:

     Most players, fans, coaches, commentators believe the hot hand is widespread in game situations. You only have to watch a few basketball games to hear commentators mention a player as being "on fire" or having hot hand or hot streaks.

2. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see hot,‎ streak.
   • 1903, Agnes Castle, Egerton Castle, Incomparable Bellairs, New York, N.Y.: Frederick A. Stokes Company, page 121:

     A hot streak of flame passed, singing, close above O'Hara's ear.

See also

• hot hand

 

References

• “hot streak”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
• “hot streak, n.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, launched 2000.