spot
verb/spɒt/
/spɑːt/
Verb Forms
Idioms | present simple I / you / we / they spot | /spɒt/ /spɑːt/ |
| he / she / it spots | /spɒts/ /spɑːts/ |
| past simple spotted | /ˈspɒtɪd/ /ˈspɑːtɪd/ |
| past participle spotted | /ˈspɒtɪd/ /ˈspɑːtɪd/ |
| -ing form spotting | /ˈspɒtɪŋ/ /ˈspɑːtɪŋ/ |
- (not used in the progressive tenses) to see or notice a person or thing, especially suddenly or when it is not easy to do so
- spot somebody/something Can you spot the difference between these two pictures?
- She's always quick to spot an opportunity.
- Teachers, GPs, and other professionals are trained to spot signs of abuse.
- He was only seven years old when someone first spotted his talent.
- Her modelling career began when she was spotted at the age of 14.
- Spotting the disease early can save lives.
- I finally spotted my friend in the crowd.
- I've just spotted a mistake on the front cover.
- spot somebody/something doing something Neighbours spotted smoke coming out of the house.
- spot that… No one spotted that the gun was a fake.
- spot what, where, etc… I soon spotted what the mistake was.
Synonyms seeseespot ▪ catch ▪ glimpseThese words all mean to become aware of somebody/something by using your eyes, especially suddenly or when it is not easy to see them/it.see to become aware of somebody/something by using your eyes:see also spotter- She looked for him but couldn’t see him in the crowd.
- He could see (that) she had been crying.
- I’ve just spotted a mistake on the front cover.
- She caught sight of a car in the distance.
- He caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror.
- He’d glimpsed her through the window as he passed.
- to see/spot that/how/what/where/who…
- to suddenly see/spot/glimpse somebody/something
Extra Examples- ‘There's a parking space over there.’ ‘Well spotted!’
- Can you spot the difference between the two?
- Most of these fossils are too small to be easily spotted.
- The birds should be easy enough to spot.
- The company spotted an opportunity to expand.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- immediately
- quickly
- soon
- …
- be difficult to
- be hard to
- be easy to
- …
- well spotted
- spot somebody/something sth (North American English, sport) to give your opponent or the other team an advantage
- We spotted the opposing team two goals.
More Like This Consonant-doubling verbsConsonant-doubling verbs
Word OriginMiddle English: perhaps from Middle Dutch spotte. The sense ‘notice, recognize’ arose from the early 19th-cent. slang use ‘note as a suspect or criminal’.
Idioms
See spot in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee spot in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic Englishbe spotted with something
- to be covered with small round marks of something
- His shirt was spotted with oil.
Check pronunciation:
spot