spot

Etymology

From Middle English spot or spotte, cognate with Middle Dutch spotte (“spot, speck”), Low German spot, and Old Norse spotti (“small piece”). Also Old English splott (“spot, plot of land”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /spɒt/
• Rhymes: -ɒt
• (US) IPA^(key): /spɑt/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Noun

spot (plural spots)

1. A round or irregular patch on the surface of a thing having a different color, texture etc. and generally round in shape.

   The leopard is noted for the spots of color in its fur.

2. A stain or disfiguring mark.

   I have tried everything, and I can’t get this spot out.

3. A pimple, papule or pustule.

   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.

4. A small, unspecified amount or quantity.

   Would you like to come round on Sunday for a spot of lunch?

5. (slang, US) A bill of five-dollar or ten-dollar denomination in dollars.

   Here's the twenty bucks I owe you, a ten spot and two five spots.

6. A location or area.

   I like to eat lunch in a pleasant spot outside.

   For our anniversary we went back to the same spot where we first met.

   • (Can we date this quote?) Milton

     That spot to which I point is Paradise.

   • (Can we date this quote?) Milton Wordsworth

     "A jolly place," said he, "in times of old! / But something ails it now: the spot is cursed."

   • 2011, Tom Fordyce, Rugby World Cup 2011: England 12-19 France

     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.

7. A parking space.
   • 2011 March 23, “We asked mayoral candidates: Do you support 'dibs' on parking spots?”, in Chicago Sun-Times:

     Del Valle has the blessing of a garage, so he doesn't have to claim “dibs” on shoveled street spots himself, he said.

8. (sports) An official determination of placement.

   The fans were very unhappy with the referee's spot of the ball.

9. A bright lamp; a spotlight.
10. (US, advertising) A brief advertisement or program segment on television.

    Did you see the spot on the news about the shoelace factory?

11. Difficult situation; predicament.

    She was in a real spot when she ran into her separated husband while on a date.

12. (gymnastics, dance, weightlifting) One who spots (supports or assists a maneuver, or is prepared to assist if safety dictates); a spotter.
13. (soccer) Penalty spot.
    • 2011 January 8, Chris Bevan, “Arsenal 1 - 1 Leeds”, in BBC‎:

      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.

14. The act of spotting or noticing something.

    - You've misspelled "terrapin" here.

    - Whoops. Good spot.

15. A variety of the common domestic pigeon, so called from a spot on its head just above the beak.
16. 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.
17. The southern redfish, or red horse (Sciaenops ocellatus), which has a spot on each side at the base of the tail.
18. (in the plural, brokers' slang, dated) Commodities, such as merchandise and cotton, sold for immediate delivery.
19. An autosoliton.
20. (finance) A decimal point; point.

    Twelve spot two five pounds sterling. (ie. £12.25)

Verb

spot (third-person singular simple present spots, present participle spotting, simple past and past participle spotted)

1. (transitive) To see, find; to pick out, notice, locate, distinguish or identify.

   Try to spot the differences between these two pictures.

2. (finance) To loan a small amount of money to someone.

   I’ll spot you ten dollars for lunch.

3. (transitive, intransitive) To stain; to leave a spot (on).

   Hard water will spot if it is left on a surface.

   a garment spotted with mould

4. To remove, or attempt to remove, a stain.

   I spotted the carpet where the child dropped spaghetti.

5. (gymnastics, dance, weightlifting, climbing) To support or assist a maneuver, or to be prepared to assist if safety dictates.

   I can’t do a back handspring unless somebody spots me.

6. (dance) To keep the head and eyes pointing in a single direction while turning.

   Most figure skaters do not spot their turns like dancers do.

7. To stain; to blemish; to taint; to disgrace; to tarnish, as reputation.
   • Sir Philip Sidney

     My virgin life no spotted thoughts shall stain.

   • Beaumont and Fletcher

     If ever I shall close these eyes but once, / May I live spotted for my perjury.

8. To cut or chip (timber) in preparation for hewing.
9. To place an object at a location indicated by a spot. Notably in billiards or snooker.

   The referee had to spot the pink on the blue spot.

Adjective

spot (not comparable)

1. (commerce) Available on the spot; on hand for immediate payment or delivery.

   spot wheat; spot cash

Anagrams

• OTPs, POST, POTS, PTOs, Post, opts, post, post-, post., pots, stop, tops

Noun

spot c (singular definite spotten, not used in plural form)

1. mockery, ridicule
   • 2013, Jan Guillou, Vejen til Jerusalem, Modtryk →ISBN

     Men at også den anden søn savnede alle mandlige dyder, var straks værre og gjorde spotten større.

     But that the other son, too, lacked all male virtues, was much worse and enlarged the mockery.

   • 2010, Tove Ditlevsen, Man gjorde et barn fortræd, Gyldendal A/S →ISBN

     Hun havde råd til at smile igen, så ligegyldig var deres spot hende.

     She could afford to smile back, that was how little she cared about their ridicule.

   • 2015, Jørgen Christensen, Muhammed-tegningerne, demokratiet og sikkerhedspolitikken, BoD – Books on Demand →ISBN, page 9

     I artiklen skrev kulturredaktør Flemming Rose bl.a., at muslimer måtte acceptere, at deres religiøse følelser blev udsat for hån, spot og latterliggørelse^[sic]:...

     In the article, editor of culture Flemming Rose wrote, among other things, that muslims had to accept their religious feelings being made the object of mockery, derision and ridicule:...

   • 2014, Fjodor M. Dostojevskij, Minder fra dødens hus, Bechs Forlag - Viatone →ISBN

     Først sporede man hos alle en heftig forbitrelse, derefter en dyb nedslåethed, og endelig syntes al sindsbevægelse at vige pladsen for hoverende spot.

     At first, one saw with everyone a hefty bitterness, then a deep sadness, and finally, all emotion seemed to recede, making way for gloating mockery.

Verb

spot

1. imperative of spotte

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /spɔt/

• spot

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɔt

Etymology 1

From Middle Dutch spot, from Old Dutch *spot, from Proto-Germanic *sputtaz.

Etymology 2

Borrowed from English spot.

Anagrams

• post, stop

Etymology

Borrowed from English spot.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /spɔt/

Noun

spot m (plural spots)

1. (physics) light spot
2. blip (on radar)
3. (cinematography, theater) spotlight, spot
4. (surfing) area
5. (television) spot; a brief segment on television.

Further reading

• “spot” in le Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Anagrams

• pots, stop

Etymology

English

Noun

spot m (invariable)

1. spot (theatrical light; luminous point; brief radio or TV publicity)

Anagrams

• post, stop

Etymology

From Old Dutch *spot, from Proto-Germanic *sputtaz.

Noun

spot m, n

1. joke, jest
2. mockery, derision

Further reading

• “spot”, in Vroegmiddelnederlands Woordenboek, 2000
• “spot”, in Middelnederlandsch Woordenboek, 1929

Etymology

Borrowed from English spot (“brief advertisement”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /spɔt/

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

spot m inan

1. (neologism) spot, a short broadcast in television

Noun

spot m (genitive singular spoit, plural spotan)

1. spot, stain
2. spot, place

Noun

spot m (plural spots)

1. advert, ad

Etymology

From English sport.

Noun

spot

1. sport

Noun

spot (plural spots)

1. sport