spot
Part of speech: noun
verb
adj
Morphological type: simple
Topics: advertising
aeronautics
aerospace
aviation
ball-games
billiards
business
climbing
commerce
dance
dancing
engineering
finance
games
government
gymnastics
hobbies
lifestyle
marketing
military
natural-sciences
physical-sciences
physics
politics
rail-transport
railways
snooker
soccer
sports
transport
war
weightlifting
Etymology: From Middle English spot, spotte, partially from Middle Dutch spotte (“spot, speck”), and partially merging with Middle English splot, from Old English splott (“spot, plot of land”), from Proto-West Germanic *splott, from Proto-Germanic *spluttaz (“segment”), from Proto-Indo-European *splt-no- (“an off-split, segment”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)pel- (“to split”).
Cognate with North Frisian spot (“speck, piece of ground”), Low German spot (“speck”), Old Norse spotti (“small piece”). See also splot, splotch.
Inflected forms:
form: spots
pos: noun
tags: plural
form: spots
pos: verb
tags: present
singular
third-person
form: spotting
pos: verb
tags: participle
present
form: spotted
pos: verb
tags: participle
past
form: spotted
pos: verb
tags: past
Senses:
gloss: A round or irregular patch on the surface of a thing having a different color, texture etc. and generally round in shape.
pos: noun
examples: The leopard is noted for the spots of color in its fur.
Why do ladybugs have spots?
gloss: A stain or disfiguring mark.
pos: noun
examples: I have tried everything, and I can’t get this spot out.
gloss: A pimple, papule or pustule.
pos: noun
examples: That morning, I saw that a spot had come up on my chin.
I think she's got chicken pox; she's covered in spots.
gloss: A symbol on a playing card, domino, die, etc. indicating its value; a pip.
pos: noun
gloss: A small, unspecified amount or quantity.
pos: noun
examples: Do come 'round on Sunday for a spot of tea, won't you?
gloss: A bill of five-dollar or ten-dollar denomination in dollars.
pos: noun
tags: US
slang
examples: Here's the twenty bucks I owe you, a ten spot and two five spots.
gloss: A location or area.
pos: noun
examples: I like to eat lunch in a pleasant spot outside.
For our anniversary we went back to the same spot where we first met.
That spot to which I point is Paradise.
"A jolly place," said he, "in times of old! / But something ails it now: the spot is curs'd."
Yachvilli made it 6-0 with a second sweet strike from 45 metres after Matt Stevens was penalised for collapsing a scrum, and then slid another penalty just wide from the same spot.
gloss: A parking space.
pos: noun
examples: Del Valle has the blessing of a garage, so he doesn't have to claim “dibs” on shoveled street spots himself, he said.
gloss: An official determination of placement.
pos: noun
examples: The fans were very unhappy with the referee's spot of the ball.
gloss: A bright lamp; a spotlight.
pos: noun
gloss: A brief advertisement or program segment on television.
pos: noun
tags: US
examples: Did you see the spot on the news about the shoelace factory?
gloss: A difficult situation.
pos: noun
examples: She was in a real spot when she ran into her separated husband while on a date.
gloss: One who spots (supports or assists a maneuver, or is prepared to assist if safety dictates); a spotter.
pos: noun
gloss: Penalty spot.
pos: noun
examples: The Gunners dominated for long periods but, against the run of play, Denilson fouled Max Gradel and Robert Snodgrass put Leeds ahead from the spot.
gloss: The act of spotting or noticing something.
pos: noun
examples: You've misspelled "terrapin" here. —Whoops. Good spot.
gloss: A variety of the common domestic pigeon, so called from a spot on its head just above the beak.
pos: noun
gloss: A food fish (Leiostomus xanthurus) of the Atlantic coast of the United States, with a black spot behind the shoulders and fifteen oblique dark bars on the sides.
pos: noun
gloss: The southern redfish, or red horse (Sciaenops ocellatus), which has a spot on each side at the base of the tail.
pos: noun
gloss: Commodities, such as merchandise and cotton, sold for immediate delivery.
pos: noun
tags: dated
in-plural
gloss: An autosoliton.
pos: noun
gloss: A decimal point; point.
pos: noun
examples: Twelve spot two five pounds sterling.
gloss: Any of various points marked on the table, from which balls are played, in snooker, pool, billiards, etc.
pos: noun
gloss: Any of the balls marked with spots in the game of pool, which one player aims to pot, the other player taking the stripes.
pos: noun
gloss: An alcoholic drink.
pos: noun
tags: Australia
New-Zealand
examples: ‘It's a time since I saw you, Chris. What about a spot?’
To be lured into his shop for a convivial spot was disastrous.
gloss: To see, find; to pick out, notice, locate, distinguish or identify.
pos: verb
tags: transitive
examples: Try to spot the differences between these two pictures.
The campaign aimed to give commuters the confidence to trust their own instincts and intervene if they spot someone vulnerable who may be at risk of suicide, and to talk to them to interrupt their suicidal thoughts.
Taiwan’s gold discovery can be traced back to 1890 during construction of the railroad between Keelung and Taipei. Workers on the project spotted gold sediments on the banks of the Keelung River between Chitu and Patu.
gloss: To loan a small amount of money to someone.
pos: verb
tags: US
ditransitive
slang
examples: I’ll spot you ten dollars for lunch.
“It’s close to payday, but you’re welcome to what I have. Maybe Wickliffe can spot me a few.”
gloss: To stain; to leave a spot (on).
pos: verb
tags: ambitransitive
examples: Hard water will spot if it is left on a surface.
a garment spotted with mould
gloss: To cover with spots, to speckle.
pos: verb
tags: transitive
examples: No palm-tree rose to spot the wilderness; […]
[…] many ships spotting the dark blue deep / With snowy sails, fled fast as ours came nigh, […]
[…] Amid lanes and through old woods, where lately the violets peep’d from the ground, spotting the gray debris, […]
gloss: To experience vaginal spotting; to expel blood from the vagina.
pos: verb
examples: "If you've got regular periods with an IUD that's fine, but if you're starting to spot or get quite a regular loss, then it should be carefully investigated." (Last)
gloss: To rain slightly, in scattered, infrequent drops, for example when first beginning to rain.
pos: verb
tags: dialectal
examples: And it is beginning to spot with rain. I must start work on a shelter.
[…] thunder growled as if to confirm his prediction. Rain was beginning to spot as he kissed me in parting. I had to hurry back to the Assembly Rooms to avoid a soaking.
gloss: To remove, or attempt to remove, a stain.
pos: verb
tags: transitive
examples: I spotted the carpet where the child dropped spaghetti.
gloss: To retouch a photograph on film to remove minor flaws.
pos: verb
tags: transitive
gloss: To support or assist a maneuver, or to be prepared to assist if safety dictates.
pos: verb
tags: transitive
examples: I can’t do a back handspring unless somebody spots me.
There had not been time to build handrails, so lines of women spotted the sides of the ramp.
gloss: To keep the head and eyes pointing in a single direction while turning.
pos: verb
tags: transitive
examples: Most figure skaters do not spot their turns like dancers do.
gloss: To stain; to blemish; to taint; to disgrace; to tarnish, as reputation.
pos: verb
tags: transitive
examples: Link not me in self same chain / With the wicked-working folk, / Who their spotted thoughts do cloak.
If ever I shall close these eyes but once, / May I live spotted for my perjury.
gloss: To cut or chip (timber) in preparation for hewing.
pos: verb
tags: transitive
gloss: To place (an object) at a location indicated by a spot.
pos: verb
tags: transitive
examples: The referee had to spot the pink on the blue spot.
gloss: Of a ball, to be capable of being placed on its own spot.
pos: verb
tags: intransitive
examples: The black ball won't spot – the green is in the way.
gloss: To position (an aircraft) on the deck of an aircraft carrier ready for launch by catapult.
pos: verb
tags: transitive
examples: The aircraft is spotted on the catapult, and the console operator turns the crank to FIRST READY, causing the exhaust valve to close.
This spotting order varies from carrier to carrier to suit the flight-deck layout. Certain aircraft must be spotted in a specific location to permit servicing, loading of ammunition, starting, maintenance, and so forth.
gloss: To position (a locomotive or car) at a predetermined point, e.g., for loading or unloading.
pos: verb
tags: transitive
gloss: Available on the spot; for immediate payment or delivery.
pos: adj
tags: not-comparable
examples: spot wheat
spot cash
a spot contract
gloss: Exact; precise.
pos: adj
tags: informal
not-comparable
examples: The other bus meets yours at the intersection within one minute; it's a spot connection, and you might not make it.
Synonyms: catch sight of
clock
decern
descry
espy
goam
ken
make out
spot
spy
Related words: glance
spit-spot
Derived words: misspot
respot
self-spot
spottable
spot the ball
spot the difference
Translations: