Meaning & use
hot desk
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountable
A desk in a shared office that any worker can use for a day instead of having a fixed desk.
Grammar: A countable noun: a hot desk, several hot desks.
Patterns
- book a hot desk
- share a hot desk
I booked a hot desk for Tuesday through the app.
The new office has twenty hot desks and no private rooms.
She found a free hot desk near the window.
verbintransitive
To work at whichever desk is free instead of keeping one fixed desk of your own.
Grammar: No object: our team hot desks on Fridays.
Patterns
- hot desk in an office
Staff hot desk when they come in from home.
We hot desk to save on office space.
He hot desked at three different offices this month.
Word forms
| plural | hot desks |
|---|---|
| third person singular | hot desks |
| past tense | hot desked |
| -ing form | hot desking |
Common combinations
- book a hot desk
- You can book a hot desk the night before.
- hot desk space
- The startup rents hot desk space downtown.
- hot desk policy
- A hot desk policy saves the firm money.
- free hot desk
- There was no free hot desk left.
- hot desk area
- The hot desk area is on the second floor.
Synonyms and how they differ
- shared desk
- Shared desk is a broader phrase, and can mean two people with one fixed desk, while hot desk means any free desk that day.
- flexible workspace
- Flexible workspace is a more formal term for the whole arrangement, not a single desk.
- touchdown space
- Touchdown space is a less common term for a spot where visitors work briefly, while a hot desk may be used all day.
Opposites
Word family
- hot-desking noun
- the practice of using any free desk in an office
- hot desker noun
- a worker who uses hot desks (rare)
- desk noun
- a table for working at
Commonly confused: hot desk or hot seat?
hot desk vs hot seat
A hot seat is a difficult, high-pressure position, not a shared workspace.
Practice
Our company doesn't give staff their own spaces; everyone uses a ___ when they arrive.
Choose one answer.
A hot desk is any free desk used for a day. A private office is a fixed room, a hot seat is a tough position, and a front desk is a reception counter.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “hot desk”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.