Word.ws English Dictionary

spot

UK/spɒt//spɑt/

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

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.
    • Why do ladybugs have spots?
  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 symbol on a playing card, domino, die, etc. indicating its value; a pip.
  5. A small, unspecified amount or quantity.
    • Do come 'round on Sunday for a spot of tea, won't you?
  6. (US, slang) 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.
  7. 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.
  8. A parking space.
    • Del Valle has the blessing of a garage, so he doesn't have to claim “dibs” on shoveled street spots himself, he said.2011 March 23, “We asked mayoral candidates: Do you support 'dibs' on parking spots?”, in Chicago Sun-Times
  9. An official determination of placement.
    • The fans were very unhappy with the referee's spot of the ball.
  10. A bright lamp; a spotlight.
  11. (US) A brief advertisement or program segment on television.
    • Did you see the spot on the news about the shoelace factory?
  12. A difficult situation.
    • She was in a real spot when she ran into her separated husband while on a date.
Show 12 more meaningsShow fewer meanings
  1. One who spots (supports or assists a maneuver, or is prepared to assist if safety dictates); a spotter.
  2. Penalty spot.
    • 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.2011 January 8, Chris Bevan, “Arsenal 1 - 1 Leeds”, in BBC
  3. The act of spotting or noticing something.
    • You've misspelled "terrapin" here. —Whoops. Good spot.
  4. A variety of the common domestic pigeon, so called from a spot on its head just above the beak.
  5. 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.
  6. The southern redfish, or red horse (Sciaenops ocellatus), which has a spot on each side at the base of the tail.
  7. (dated, in plural, brokers' slang) Commodities, such as merchandise and cotton, sold for immediate delivery.
  8. An autosoliton.
  9. A decimal point; point.
    • Twelve spot two five pounds sterling.
  10. Any of various points marked on the table, from which balls are played, in snooker, pool, billiards, etc.
  11. Any of the balls marked with spots in the game of pool, which one player aims to pot, the other player taking the stripes.
  12. (Australia, New Zealand) An alcoholic drink.
    • ‘It's a time since I saw you, Chris. What about a spot?’1942, Leonard Mann, The Go-Getter, page 188
    • To be lured into his shop for a convivial spot was disastrous.1963, Ronald Hugh Morrieson, The Scarecrow, Text Classics, published 2012, page 41

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.
    • 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.2020 July 1, Ruth Sutherland, Neil Peters, “Answering the call”, in Rail, page 47
  2. (US, ditransitive, slang) To loan a small amount of money to someone.
    • 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.”2018, Tayari Jones, An American Marriage, Oneworld Publications, page 185
  3. (ambitransitive) To stain; to leave a spot (on).
    • Hard water will spot if it is left on a surface.
    • a garment spotted with mould
    Synonyms:
    begrime, blot, soil, assoil, beclart, bedaub, bedirty, imbrue (especially with blood), bedizen, befile
  4. (transitive) To cover with spots, to speckle.
    • No palm-tree rose to spot the wilderness; […]1853, Robert Southey, The Poetical Works of Robert Southey, page 6
    • […] many ships spotting the dark blue deep / With snowy sails, fled fast as ours came nigh, […]1855, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Works, page 83
    Synonyms:
    asperse, bespeckle, fleck
  5. To experience vaginal spotting; to expel blood from the vagina.
    • "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)1988, Anne Dickson, Nikki Henriques, Women on Menopause: A Practical Guide to a Positive Transition, Inner Traditions / Bear & Co, →ISBN, page 39
  6. (dialectal) To rain slightly, in scattered, infrequent drops, for example when first beginning to rain.
    • And it is beginning to spot with rain. I must start work on a shelter.2019 April 1, Louise Allen, Least Likely to Marry a Duke: A Regency Historical Romance, Harlequin, →ISBN
    • […] 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.2010 May 3, Celia Rees, Pirates!, A&C Black, →ISBN, page 57
  7. (transitive) To remove, or attempt to remove, a stain.
    • I spotted the carpet where the child dropped spaghetti.
  8. (transitive) To retouch a photograph on film to remove minor flaws.
  9. (transitive) 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.
    • There had not been time to build handrails, so lines of women spotted the sides of the ramp.1989 April 15, Angela Bowen, “Towards a National Lesbian Conference”, in Gay Community News, page 2
  10. (transitive) To keep the head and eyes pointing in a single direction while turning.
    • Most figure skaters do not spot their turns like dancers do.
  11. (transitive) To stain; to blemish; to taint; to disgrace; to tarnish, as reputation.
    • Link not me in self same chain / With the wicked-working folk, / Who their spotted thoughts do cloak.a. 1587, Philippe Sidnei [i.e., Philip Sidney], “(please specify the folio)”, in [Fulke Greville; Matthew Gwinne; John Florio], editors, The Countesse of Pembrokes Arcadia [The New Arcadia], London...
    • If ever I shall close these eyes but once, / May I live spotted for my perjury.c. 1608–1610, Francis Beaumont, John Fletcher, “Philaster: Or, Love Lies a Bleeding”, in Comedies and Tragedies […], London: […] Humphrey Robinson, […], and for Humphrey Moseley […], published 1679...
  12. (transitive) To cut or chip (timber) in preparation for hewing.
Show 4 more meaningsShow fewer meanings
  1. (transitive) To place (an object) at a location indicated by a spot.
    • The referee had to spot the pink on the blue spot.
  2. (intransitive) Of a ball, to be capable of being placed on its own spot.
    • The black ball won't spot – the green is in the way.
  3. (transitive) To position (an aircraft) on the deck of an aircraft carrier ready for launch by catapult.
    • The aircraft is spotted on the catapult, and the console operator turns the crank to FIRST READY, causing the exhaust valve to close.1959, Aviation Boatswain's Mate 3 & 2: Navy Training Courses, United States. Bureau of Naval Personnel, page 315
    • 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.1990, Mike Harvell, Airman, pages 9–37
  4. (transitive) To position (a locomotive or car) at a predetermined point, e.g., for loading or unloading.

Adjective

spot (not comparable)

  1. Available on the spot; for immediate payment or delivery.
    • spot wheat
    • spot cash
  2. (informal) Exact; precise.
    • The other bus meets yours at the intersection within one minute; it's a spot connection, and you might not make it.

Proper noun capitalized: Spot

Spot

  1. A popular given name for a dog

spot meaning in Tamil, Marathi, Urdu and Bengali

spot in Tamil

புள்ளி

spot in Marathi

spot, stain, blot
डाग ḍāg

spot in Urdu

spot; stain
ٹیکا ṭīkā

spot in Bengali

spot, blemish
অঙ্ক oṅko
More languagesFewer languages
spot in Telugu
కళంకము kaḷaṅkamu
spot in Malayalam
പുള്ളി puḷḷi
spot in Kannada
ಜಾಗ jāga
spot in Sanskrit
रेपस् repas
spot in Assamese
চকৰ sokor
spot in Arabic
بُقْعَة buqʕa
spot in Malay
tompok

Examples of spot in a sentence

  • "A jolly place," said he, "in times of old! / But something ails it now: the spot is curs'd."1800, William Wordsworth, Hart-leap Well:
  • 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.2011, Tom Fordyce, Rugby World Cup 2011: England 12-19 France:
  • Workers on the project spotted gold sediments on the banks of the Keelung River between Chitu and Patu.2022 January 18, HARDCORE MINER, “Gold in Taiwan – A Surprisingly Rich Mining History”, in How to Find Gold Nuggets, archived from the...
  • A Uganda Wildlife Authority worker said he spotted Sophia near the camp latrine at around 6.30 pm as it began to get dark.2026 August 13, Nicholas Muhoro, “Dutch Medical Student Sophia Koetsier Vanished in Uganda in 2015. An Unknown Man’s DNA Was Later Found on...

All 40 example sentences with spot

Synonyms of spot

30 more synonymsFewer synonyms

All synonyms of spot

Forms of spot

Noun
pluralspots
Verb
third-person singular presentspots
present participlespotting
past participlespotted
pastspotted

Past tense of spot: spotted

Plural of spot: spots

Origin of spot

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.

From spot.

Words formed from spot

Phrases with spot

98 more phrasesFewer phrases

Words that rhyme with spot

48 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about spot

What does spot mean?
Spot means a round or irregular patch on the surface of a thing having a different color, texture etc. and generally round in shape.
What is spot in Tamil?
Spot in Tamil is புள்ளி. See Spot meaning in Tamil.
How do you use spot in a sentence?
"A jolly place," said he, "in times of old! / But something ails it now: the spot is curs'd."
What part of speech is spot?
Spot can be a noun, a verb, an adjective or a proper noun.
How do you pronounce spot?
Spot is pronounced /spɒt/ (UK).
What is the plural of spot?
The plural of spot is spots.

Words near spot in the dictionary

  1. Sposito
  2. Spositos
  3. spositron
  4. spositrons
  5. sposta
  6. spot
  7. spot beam
  8. spot beams
  9. spot card
  10. spot cards
  11. spot cash

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: spot (page history and authors); Spot (page history and authors); spot (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); डाग (Marathi) (page history and authors); ٹیکا (Urdu) (page history and authors); অঙ্ক (Bengali) (page history and authors); కళంకము (Telugu) (page history and authors); പുള്ളി (Malayalam) (page history and authors); ಜಾಗ (Kannada) (page history and authors); চকৰ (Assamese) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-spot.ogg.

Cite this entry: “spot.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/spot. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.