spot Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a point located with respect to surface features of some region
    topographic point; place.
    • this is a nice place for a picnic
    • a bright spot on a planet
  2. noun a short section or illustration (as between radio or tv programs or in a magazine) that is often used for advertising
  3. noun an outstanding characteristic
    point.
    • his acting was one of the high points of the movie
  4. noun a blemish made by dirt
    smirch; blot; slur; smear; smudge; daub.
    • he had a smudge on his cheek
  5. noun a small contrasting part of something
    speckle; patch; maculation; fleck; dapple.
    • a bald spot
    • a leopard's spots
    • a patch of clouds
    • patches of thin ice
    • a fleck of red
  6. noun a section of an entertainment that is assigned to a specific performer or performance
    • they changed his spot on the program
  7. noun a business establishment for entertainment
    • night spot
  8. noun a job in an organization
    berth; office; billet; place; situation; position; post.
    • he occupied a post in the treasury
  9. noun a slight attack of illness
    touch.
    • he has a touch of rheumatism
  10. noun a small piece or quantity of something
    bit.
    • a spot of tea
    • a bit of paper
    • a bit of lint
    • I gave him a bit of my mind
  11. noun a mark on a die or on a playing card (shape depending on the suit)
    pip.
  12. noun a lamp that produces a strong beam of light to illuminate a restricted area; used to focus attention of a stage performer
    spotlight.
  13. noun a playing card with a specified number of pips on it to indicate its value
    • an eight-spot
  14. noun an act that brings discredit to the person who does it
    smear; smirch; blot; stain.
    • he made a huge blot on his copybook
  15. verb catch sight of
    espy; descry; spy.
  16. verb detect with the senses
    recognize; make out; tell apart; recognise; distinguish; pick out; discern.
    • The fleeing convicts were picked out of the darkness by the watchful prison guards
    • I can't make out the faces in this photograph
  17. verb mar or impair with a flaw
    blemish.
    • her face was blemished
  18. verb make a spot or mark onto
    fleck; blot; blob.
    • The wine spotted the tablecloth
  19. verb become spotted
    • This dress spots quickly
  20. verb mark with a spot or spots so as to allow easy recognition
    • spot the areas that one should clearly identify

WordNet

Spot noun
Etymology
Cf. Scot. & D. spat, Dan. spette, Sw. spott spittle, slaver; from the root of E. spit. See Spit to eject from the mouth, and cf. Spatter.
Definitions
  1. A mark on a substance or body made by foreign matter; a blot; a place discolored.
    Out, damned spot! Out, I say! Shak.
  2. A stain on character or reputation; something that soils purity; disgrace; reproach; fault; blemish.
    Yet Chloe, sure, was formed without a spot. Pope.
  3. A small part of a different color from the main part, or from the ground upon which it is; as, the spots of a leopard; the spots on a playing card.
  4. A small extent of space; a place; any particular place. "Fixed to one spot." Otway.
    That spot to which I point is Paradise. Milton.
    "A jolly place," said he, "in times of old! But something ails it now: the spot is cursed." Wordsworth.
  5. (Zoöl.) A variety of the common domestic pigeon, so called from a spot on its head just above its beak.
  6. (Zoöl.) (a) A sciænoid food fish (Liostomus xanthurus) of the Atlantic coast of the United States. It has a black spot behind the shoulders and fifteen oblique dark bars on the sides. Called also goody, Lafayette, masooka, and old wife. (b) The southern redfish, or red horse, which has a spot on each side at the base of the tail. See Redfish.
  7. pl. Commodities, as merchandise and cotton, sold for immediate delivery. Broker's Cant Syn. -- Stain; flaw; speck; blot; disgrace; reproach; fault; blemish; place; site; locality.
Spot transitive verb
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Spotted; present participle & verbal noun Spotting
Definitions
  1. To make visible marks upon with some foreign matter; to discolor in or with spots; to stain; to cover with spots or figures; as, to spot a garnment; to spot paper.
  2. To mark or note so as to insure recognition; to recognize; to detect; as, to spot a criminal. Cant
  3. To stain; to blemish; to taint; to disgrace; to tarnish, as reputation; to asperse.
    My virgin life no spotted thoughts shall stain. Sir P. Sidney.
    If ever I shall close these eyes but once, May I live spotted for my perjury. Beau. & Fl.
Spot intransitive verb
Definitions
  1. To become stained with spots.

Webster 1913