Dodgy mate's in hot water (5)
I believe the answer is:
steam
'hot water' is the definition.
(evaporated water)
'dodgy mate's' is the wordplay.
'dodgy' indicates anagramming the letters (a dodgy or wrong order of the letters).
'mates' with letters rearranged gives 'STEAM'.
'in' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for steam that I've seen before include "Vaporous exhalation" , "Gas from boiliing water" , "Momentum - boiled water" , "Kettle emission" , "Engine driver" .)