hotspot

What is the opposite of hotspot? Here is what we hold, with its meaning and related words.

Noun — A place where a wireless network is made available so that people nearby can get online, such as in a café, hotel or airport.

Synonyms by Meaning

1. noun

A place where a wireless network is made available so that people nearby can get online, such as in a café, hotel or airport.

“The station has a free hotspot, but you have to sign in through a web page first.”

Wi-Fi hotspot access point public Wi-Fi wireless access point flashpoint

2. noun

A feature of a phone or other mobile device that shares its mobile data connection with nearby devices over Wi-Fi, Bluetooth or a cable.

“I turned on the hotspot on my phone so my laptop could get online from the train.”

personal hotspot mobile hotspot tethering

3. noun general use

More generally, a place where something happens far more than elsewhere, such as an area of unusual activity, risk or interest.

“That junction is a hotspot for cyclists' near misses.”

trouble spot cluster focal point

How to use hotspot

The word patterns that sound natural to a native speaker.

mobile hotspot personal hotspot free hotspot turn on the hotspot public hotspot

Everyday. Written as one word in technical use; hot spot as two words is more common for the general sense of a busy or risky place.

Etymology

A compound of hot, in the figurative sense of intense or active, and spot, a place. The wireless sense extends the older general meaning of an area of concentrated activity.

Full origin of hotspot →

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between a hotspot and tethering?

They overlap. Tethering is the general act of sharing a phone's mobile data with another device, whether over Wi-Fi, Bluetooth or a USB cable. A hotspot specifically means doing it by having the phone broadcast a small Wi-Fi network that other devices join.

Does using a phone hotspot use mobile data?

Yes. Anything the connected laptop, tablet or console downloads is carried over the phone's mobile data connection and counts against whatever allowance that plan has.

Is a public hotspot the same as home Wi-Fi?

Both are Wi-Fi networks, but a public hotspot is shared with strangers and often requires agreeing to terms on a sign-in page. A home network is usually protected by a password known only to the household.

People also searched

cluster tethering

Nearby words

← Back to the full definition of hotspot