English Explanatory Dictionary

spot

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. A round or irregular patch on the surface of a thing having a different color, texture etc. and generally round in shape.
  2. A stain or disfiguring mark.
  3. A pimple, papule or pustule.
  4. A symbol on a playing card, domino, die, etc. indicating its value; a pip.
  5. A small, unspecified amount or quantity.
  6. A bill of five-dollar or ten-dollar denomination in dollars.
  7. A location or area.
  8. A parking space.
  9. An official determination of placement.
  10. A bright lamp; a spotlight.
  11. A brief advertisement or program segment on television.
  12. A difficult situation.
verb
  1. To see, find; to pick out, notice, locate, distinguish or identify.
  2. To loan a small amount of money to someone.
  3. To stain; to leave a spot (on).
  4. To cover with spots, to speckle.
  5. To experience vaginal spotting; to expel blood from the vagina.
  6. To rain slightly, in scattered, infrequent drops, for example when first beginning to rain.
  7. To remove, or attempt to remove, a stain.
  8. To retouch a photograph on film to remove minor flaws.
  9. To support or assist a maneuver, or to be prepared to assist if safety dictates.
  10. To keep the head and eyes pointing in a single direction while turning.
  11. To stain; to blemish; to taint; to disgrace; to tarnish, as reputation.
  12. To cut or chip (timber) in preparation for hewing.
adj
  1. Available on the spot; for immediate payment or delivery.
  2. Exact; precise.
name
  1. A popular given name for a dog

Pronunciation

/spɒt/ /spɑt/ en-us-spot.ogg

Word forms

spot spots spotting spotted

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.

Synonyms

ace atom atomy aught bissel bit crumb glimpse dab damn dash diddly glint dot spatter drop dusting fleck glimmer hint flip flyspeck grain halfpennyworth inch iota jot lick mite modicum molecule morceau morsel mote ooch ounce particle pennyworth piece pinch relish scantling semblance scent scintilla scooch scrap scruple shred skerrick skoosh skosh sliver smattering smidge smidgen smidget smidgy smitch smithereen

Related words

glance spit-spot

Derived words

age spot Arago spot bald spot beauty spot bespot Bier spot blackspot blind spot blood spot bloodspot blue spot bright spot brown spot browspot Brushfield spot Campbell de Morgan spot cellspot center spot checkerspot citrus black spot cold spot cover the spot crescentspot C-spot dead spot eggspot eyespot faceoff spot findspot five-spot flat spot followspot Fordyce spot Fordyce's spot forty-spot Fresnel spot germinal spot Gräfenberg spot grease spot Great Red Spot green spot G-spot heatspot heaven spot helispot highspot hit the spot honey spot hot spot immunospot in a bad spot inkspot Johnny-on-the-spot leafspot leaf spot lesser spot-nosed monkey medullary spot microspot milk spot misspot
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