Crossword Dictionary

What's The Definition Of Spot?

\Spot\, a. Lit., being on the spot, or place; hence (Com.), on hand for immediate delivery after sale; -- said of commodities; as, spot wheat.
\Spot\, n. [Cf. Scot. & D. spat, Dan. spette, Sw. spott spittle, slaver; from the root of E. spit. See {Spit} to eject from the mouth, and cf. {Spatter}.] 1. A mark on a substance or body made by foreign matter; a blot; a place discolored. Out, damned spot! Out, I say! --Shak. 2. A stain on character or reputation; something that soils purity; disgrace; reproach; fault; blemish. Yet Chloe, sure, was formed without a spot. --Pope. 3. A small part of a different color from the main part, or from the ground upon which it is; as, the spots of a leopard; the spots on a playing card. 4. A small extent of space; a place; any particular place. ``Fixed to one spot.'' --Otway. That spot to which I point is Paradise. --Milton. ``A jolly place,'' said he, ``in times of old! But something ails it now: the spot is cursed.'' --Wordsworth. 5. (Zo["o]l.) A variety of the common domestic pigeon, so called from a spot on its head just above its beak. 6. (Zo["o]l.) (a) A sci[ae]noid food fish ({Liostomus xanthurus}) of the Atlantic coast of the United States. It has a black spot behind the shoulders and fifteen oblique dark bars on the sides. Called also {goody}, {Lafayette}, {masooka}, and {old wife}. (b) The southern redfish, or red horse, which has a spot on each side at the base of the tail. See {Redfish}. 7. pl. Commodities, as merchandise and cotton, sold for immediate delivery. [Broker's Cant] {Crescent spot} (Zo["o]l.), any butterfly of the family {Melit[ae]id[ae]} having crescent-shaped white spots along the margins of the red or brown wings. {Spot lens} (Microscopy), a condensing lens in which the light is confined to an annular pencil by means of a small, round diaphragm (the spot), and used in dark-field ilumination; -- called also {spotted lens}. {Spot rump} (Zo["o]l.), the Hudsonian godwit ({Limosa h[ae]mastica}). {Spots on the sun}. (Astron.) See {Sun spot}, ander {Sun}. {On}, or {Upon}, {the spot}, immediately; before moving; without changing place. It was determined upon the spot. --Swift. Syn: Stain; flaw; speck; blot; disgrace; reproach; fault; blemish; place; site; locality.
\Spot\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Spotted}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Spotting}.] 1. To make visible marks upon with some foreign matter; to discolor in or with spots; to stain; to cover with spots or figures; as, to spot a garnment; to spot paper. 2. To mark or note so as to insure recognition; to recognize; to detect; as, to spot a criminal. [Cant] 3. To stain; to blemish; to taint; to disgrace; to tarnish, as reputation; to asperse. My virgin life no spotted thoughts shall stain. --Sir P. Sidney. If ever I shall close these eyes but once, May I live spotted for my perjury. --Beau. & Fl. {To spot timber}, to cut or chip it, in preparation for hewing.
\Spot\, v. i. To become stained with spots.