spot

spot¹ W2S2 [spɔt US spa:t] n

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1¦(place)¦

2¦(area)¦

3¦(mark)¦

4¦(on skin)¦

5 on the spot

6 put somebody on the spot

7¦(tv/radio)¦

8¦(position)¦

9 weak spot

10 tight spot

11 bright spot

12 a spot of something

13 spots of rain

14 five-spot/ten-spot etc

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[Date: 1100-1200; Origin: Perhaps from Middle Dutch spotte]

1.) ¦(PLACE)¦

a particular place or area, especially a pleasant place where you spend time

▪ a nice quiet spot on the beach

▪ I chose a spot well away from the road.

in a spot

▪ a small cottage in an idyllic spot

on a spot

▪ Why do they want to build a house on this particular spot?

the exact/same/very spot

▪ the exact spot where the king was executed

spot for

▪ an ideal spot for a picnic

2.) ¦(AREA)¦

a usually round area on a surface that is a different colour or is rougher, smoother etc than the rest

= ↑patch

▪ a white cat with brown spots

spot of

▪ Two spots of colour appeared in Jill's cheeks.

3.) ¦(MARK)¦

a small mark on something, especially one that is made by a liquid

▪ There was a big damp spot on the wall.

spot of

▪ a few spots of blood

4.) ¦(ON SKIN)¦

a) a small round red area on someone's skin that shows that they are ill

▪ He had a high fever and was covered in spots.

b) BrE a small raised red mark on someone's skin, especially on their face

= ↑pimple

▪ Becka was very self-conscious about her spots.

5.) on the spot

a) if you do something on the spot, you do it immediately, often without thinking about it very carefully

→↑on-the-spot

▪ He had to make a decision on the spot.

b) if you are on the spot, you are in the place where something is happening

▪ We ought to find out the views of the people on the spot.

c) BrE if you walk, run, or jump on the spot, you do it staying in the same place, without moving around

American Equivalent: in place

▪ If running outside doesn't appeal, try jogging on the spot indoors.

6.) put sb on the spot

to deliberately ask someone a question that is difficult or embarrassing to answer

7.) ¦(TV/RADIO)¦

a short period of time when someone can speak or perform on radio or television

▪ He was given a 30-second spot just after the news.

▪ a guest spot on the Tonight Show

8.) ¦(POSITION)¦

a position in a list of things or in a competition

▪ The budget has a regular spot on the agenda.

in a spot

▪ Manchester United are still in the top spot after today's win.

9.) weak spot

a) a point at which someone or something is not very good

▪ I carried on with my questions, sensing a weak spot in his story.

b) AmE if someone has a weak spot for something, they like it very much

▪ I've always had a weak spot for chocolate.

10.) tight spot informal

a difficult situation

▪ This puts the chairman in a very tight spot .

▪ I hope you can help get me out of a tight spot .

11.) bright spot

something that is good in a bad situation

▪ The computer industry is the one bright spot in the economy at the moment.

▪ The only bright spot of the evening was when the food arrived.

12.) a spot of sth

BrE informal a small amount of something

▪ Do you fancy a spot of lunch?

▪ I've been having a spot of bother (=some problems) with my car.

13.) spots of rain

BrE a few drops of rain

▪ A few spots of rain began to fall.

14.) five-spot/ten-spot etc

AmE spoken a piece of paper money worth five dollars, ten dollars etc

→↑beauty spot, ↑blackspot, ↑blind spot,change your spots at ↑change¹ (16), ↑G-spot,high point/spot at ↑high¹ (12), hit the spot at ↑hit¹ (28), ↑hot spot,knock spots off at ↑knock¹ (19), be rooted to the spot at ↑root² (5), have a soft spot for sb at ↑soft, ↑trouble spot

spot ²

spot² S3 past tense and past participle spotted present participle spotting

v [T]

1.) to notice someone or something, especially when they are difficult to see or recognize

▪ I spotted a police car behind us.

▪ It can be hard for even a trained doctor to spot the symptoms of lung cancer.

spot sb doing sth

▪ Meg spotted someone coming out of the building.

difficult/easy to spot

▪ Drug addicts are fairly easy to spot.

spot that

▪ One of the station staff spotted that I was in difficulty, and came to help.

2.) be spotted with sth

to have small round marks or small pieces of something on the surface

▪ The windscreen was spotted with rain.

3.) AmE to give the other player in a game an advantage

spot sb sth

▪ He spotted me six points and he still won.

spot ³

spot³ adj [only before noun]

for buying or paying immediately, not at some future time

▪ They won't take credit; they want spot cash .

▪ He quoted us a spot price for the goods.