🚰 Long tubes 🧵 Fabric edging 🎶 Playing pipes 🔥 Extremely hot

piping

4.6

Very hot, often used for food just from the oven

adverb
/ˈpaɪpɪŋ/

Informal

: humeante

After baking, let the piping hot pie cool for a few minutes before slicing.

All right, now back to this piping hot tea.

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Examples

All right, now back to this piping hot tea.

I've Had It
First up, the piping hot bean juice that started it all, the pumpkin spice latte.
OK, now back to the piping hot tea at hand.

I've Had It
Hang on to your hats for this piping hot take.
I can't wait to enjoy this piping hot bowl of soup on a cold day.
Make sure to serve the coffee piping hot for the best flavor.

Synonyms

boiling

vspiping

2.5

Used before an adjective to show a very strong feeling

is mainly used for very high temperature rather than feelings

Compounds

piping hot

Informal

8 3.2

Very hot food or drink that is steaming and just cooked

piping plover

1 9.9

A small pale bird that lives on sandy beaches and makes a soft whistled call

piping guan

9.9

A large bird that lives in trees in Central and South America and makes high clear calls

piping crow

Australian

9.9

A black and white bird the size of a crow that copies sounds

piping crow-shrike

Australian

9.9

A black and white bird like a crow that sings a pleasant song and copies other sounds

How Hot

scalding

3.7

piping

Informal

4.6

hot

∞ 1.0

warm

∞ 1.0

lukewarm

13 2.3

Surface Forms

piping positive

Morphology

piping = pipe (opaque) = pipe + ing

Although formed from 'pipe' + '-ing', the idiomatic intensifier use in 'piping hot' is not derivable by learners from the base meaning.

Etymology

Piping in the phrase 'piping hot' may bring to mind steam or a kettle making a loud sound, so a helpful way to remember it is to think of pipe and 'whistling' or steam ('whistling'). That's why when food is piping hot it is very, very hot and steaming.