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.

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

• Audio (US):

  (file)

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.
6. A small, unspecified amount or quantity.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:modicum

   Do come 'round on Sunday for a spot of tea, won't you?

7. (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.

8. 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.

   • 1667, John Milton, “Book III”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC:

     That spot to which I point is Paradise.

   • 1800, William Wordsworth, Hart-leap Well:

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

   • 2011, Tom Fordyce, Rugby World Cup 2011: England 12-19 France‎^[1]:

     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.

9. 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.

10. (sports) An official determination of placement.

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

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

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

13. A difficult situation.

    Synonyms: predicament; see also Thesaurus:difficult situation

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

14. (gymnastics, dance, weightlifting) One who spots (supports or assists a maneuver, or is prepared to assist if safety dictates); a spotter.
15. (soccer) Penalty spot.
    • 2011 January 8, Chris Bevan, “Arsenal 1 - 1 Leeds”, in BBC‎^[2]:

      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.

16. The act of spotting or noticing something.

    You've misspelled "terrapin" here. —Whoops. Good spot.

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

    Twelve spot two five pounds sterling. ― £12.25

23. Any of various points marked on the table, from which balls are played, in snooker, pool, billiards, etc.
24. Any of the balls marked with spots in the game of pool, which one player aims to pot, the other player taking the stripes.
25. (Australia, New Zealand) An alcoholic drink.
    • 1942, Leonard Mann, The Go-Getter, page 188:

      ‘It's a time since I saw you, Chris. What about a spot?’

    • 1963, Ronald Hugh Morrieson, The Scarecrow, Text Classics, published 2012, page 41:

      To be lured into his shop for a convivial spot was disastrous.

• sitspot
• shot spot
• sweet spot

• → Catalan: espot

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.

   Synonyms: catch sight of, descry, make out; see also Thesaurus:spot

   Try to spot the differences between these two pictures.

   • 2020 July 1, Ruth Sutherland, Neil Peters, “Answering the call”, in Rail, page 47:

     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.

   • 2022 January 18, HARDCORE MINER, “Gold in Taiwan – A Surprisingly Rich Mining History”, in How to Find Gold Nuggets‎^[3], archived from the original on 6 April 2023, Early Mining History, Where to Find Gold‎^[4]:

     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.

2. (US, slang, ditransitive) To loan a small amount of money to someone.

   I’ll spot you ten dollars for lunch.

   • 2018, Tayari Jones, An American Marriage, Oneworld Publications, page 185:

     “It’s close to payday, but you’re welcome to what I have. Maybe Wickliffe can spot me a few.”

3. (ambitransitive) To stain; to leave a spot (on).

   Synonyms: begrime, blot, soil; see also Thesaurus:dirty

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

   a garment spotted with mould

4. (transitive) To cover with spots, to speckle.

   Synonyms: asperse, bespeckle, fleck

   • 1853, Robert Southey, The Poetical Works of Robert Southey, page 6:

     No palm-tree rose to spot the wilderness;  […]

   • 1855, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Works, page 83:

     […] many ships spotting the dark blue deep / With snowy sails, fled fast as ours came nigh, […]

   • 1865, Walt Whitman, “When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d”, in Sequel to Drum-Taps: When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d and other poems:

     […] Amid lanes and through old woods, where lately the violets peep’d from the ground, spotting the gray debris, […]

5. To experience vaginal spotting; to expel blood from the vagina.
   • 1988, Anne Dickson, Nikki Henriques, Women on Menopause: A Practical Guide to a Positive Transition, Inner Traditions / Bear & Co, →ISBN, page 39:

     "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)

6. (dialectal) To rain slightly, in scattered, infrequent drops, for example when first beginning to rain.
   • 2019 April 1, Louise Allen, Least Likely to Marry a Duke: A Regency Historical Romance, Harlequin, →ISBN:

     And it is beginning to spot with rain. I must start work on a shelter.

   • 2010 May 3, Celia Rees, Pirates!, A&C Black, →ISBN, page 57:

     […] 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.

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, 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.

   • 1989 April 15, Angela Bowen, “Towards a National Lesbian Conference”, in Gay Community News, page 2:

     There had not been time to build handrails, so lines of women spotted the sides of the ramp.

10. (transitive, 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.

11. (transitive) To stain; to blemish; to taint; to disgrace; to tarnish, as reputation.

    Synonyms: besmirch, blot, denigrate; see also Thesaurus:defame

    • 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: […] [John Windet] for William Ponsonbie, published 1590, →OCLC:

      Link not me in self same chain / With the wicked-working folk, / Who their spotted thoughts do cloak.

    • 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, →OCLC, Act V, scene ii:

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

12. (transitive) To cut or chip (timber) in preparation for hewing.
13. (transitive, chiefly snooker and billiards) To place (an object) at a location indicated by a spot.

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

14. (intransitive, snooker and billiards) 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.

15. (aviation, military, transitive) To position (an aircraft) on the deck of an aircraft carrier ready for launch by catapult.
    • 1959, Aviation Boatswain's Mate 3 & 2: Navy Training Courses, United States. Bureau of Naval Personnel, page 315:

      The aircraft is spotted on the catapult, and the console operator turns the crank to FIRST READY, causing the exhaust valve to close.

    • 1990, Mike Harvell, Airman, pages 9–37:

      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.

16. (rail transport, transitive) To position (a locomotive or car) at a predetermined point, e.g., for loading or unloading.

spot (not comparable)

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

   spot wheat

   spot cash

   a spot contract

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.

• spit-spot

• post-, OTPs, SPTO, TSOP, OSTP, Tops, pots, post., Post, TPOs, TOPS, stop, post, -post, tops, POST, POTS, opts, PTOs

• IPA^(key): [ˈsb̥ʌd̥]

A back-formation of spotte (“to mock”), from Old Norse spottr. German Spott. Related to spytte.

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.

• spotsk

From English spot.

spot c or n (singular definite spotten or spottet, plural indefinite spot or spots)

1. spotlight
   • 1982, Lene H. Bagger, Idioterne, p. 179

     I millisekundet hvor lyset satte spots på hendes uforberedte ansigt, røbede det hende

     In the short moment when the light turned the spotlight on her unprepared face, it revealed her

2. spot (short advertisement in radio or TV)
   • 2012, Jyllands-Posten:

     Lego meddeler, at deres juleomsætning overgik alle forventninger på grund af spottene i TV 2

     LEGO informs that their Christmas sale surpassed all expectations due to the spots on TV 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

spot

1. imperative of spotte

• IPA^(key): /spɔt/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɔt

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

spot m (uncountable, no diminutive)

1. mockery

   Synonyms: spotternij, plagerij, pesterij

• Negerhollands: spot

Borrowed from English spot.

spot m (plural spots, diminutive spotje n)

1. spot; a spotlight
2. spot; a brief segment on television

• post, stop

Borrowed from English spot.

• IPA^(key): /spɔt/

• Audio (France (Lyon)):

  (file)

• Audio (Canada (Shawinigan)):

  (file)

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

• “spot”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012

• post, pots, stop, tops

From English spot.

• (Standard Indonesian) IPA^(key): /ˈspot/ [ˈspɔt̪̚]
• Rhymes: -ot
• Syllabification: spot

spot

1. (colloquial) spot, a location or area

• “spot”, in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia [Great Dictionary of the Indonesian Language] (in Indonesian), Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016

Unadapted borrowing from English spot.

• IPA^(key): /ˈspɔt/
• Rhymes: -ɔt
• Hyphenation: spòt

spot m (invariable)

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

• spot in Treccani.it – Vocabolario Treccani on line, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana

• post, post-, stop

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

spot m or n

1. joke, jest
2. mockery, derision

• spotten

• Dutch: spot

• “spot”, in Vroegmiddelnederlands Woordenboek, 2000
• Verwijs, E.; Verdam, J. (1885–1929), “spot”, in Middelnederlandsch Woordenboek, The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, →ISBN

Compare Dutch spot. This etymology is incomplete. You can help Wiktionary by elaborating on the origins of this term.

spot m

1. mockery

• Middle High German: spot
  • German: Spott

• Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch‎^[5] (in German), 6th edition

Borrowed from English spot.

• IPA^(key): /ˈspɔt/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɔt
• Syllabification: spot
• Homophone: spod

spot m inan

1. (radio) spot (short, usually 30-second, piece of advertising material that is aired either in between or during broadcasts)
2. (television) spot (short commercial shown in between or during TV broadcasts)

• “spot”, in Polish dictionaries at PWN‎^[6] (in Polish)

spot m (genitive singular spoit, plural spotan)

1. spot, stain
2. spot, place

• (place): bad

• spot dall

Borrowed from English spot. First attested in the 20th century.^[1]

• IPA^(key): /spɔt/, [ˈspɔt]
• Rhymes: -ɔt

spot m inan (relational adjective spotový)

1. (radio) spot (short, piece of advertising material that is aired either in between or during broadcasts)
2. (television) spot (short commercial shown in between or during TV broadcasts)

• “spot”, in Slovníkový portál Jazykovedného ústavu Ľ. Štúra SAV [Dictionary portal of the Ľ. Štúr Institute of Linguistics, Slovak Academy of Science] (in Slovak), https://slovnik.juls.savba.sk, 2003–2026

Borrowed from English spot.

• IPA^(key): /ˈspot/ [ˈspot̪]
  • Rhymes: -ot
• IPA^(key): /esˈpot/ [esˈpot̪]
  • Rhymes: -ot
• Syllabification: spot

spot m (plural spots)

1. advert, ad

• “spot”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025

From English sport.

spot

1. sport

spot (genitive spota, plural spots)

1. sport