From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Spot \Spot\ (sp[o^]t), 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.
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Out, damned spot! Out, I say! --Shak.
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2. A stain on character or reputation; something that soils
purity; disgrace; reproach; fault; blemish.
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Yet Chloe, sure, was formed without a spot. --Pope.
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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.
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4. A small extent of space; a place; any particular place.
"Fixed to one spot." --Otway.
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That spot to which I point is Paradise. --Milton.
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"A jolly place," said he, "in times of old!
But something ails it now: the spot is cursed."
--Wordsworth.
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5. (Zool.) A variety of the common domestic pigeon, so called
from a spot on its head just above its beak.
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6. (Zool.)
(a) A sciaenoid 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}.
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7. pl. Commodities, as merchandise and cotton, sold for
immediate delivery. [Broker's Cant]
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{Crescent spot} (Zool.), any butterfly of the family
{Melitaeidae} 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
illumination; -- called also {spotted lens}.
{Spot rump} (Zool.), the Hudsonian godwit ({Limosa
haemastica}).
{Spots on the sun}. (Astron.) See {Sun spot}, ander {Sun}.
{On the spot}, or {Upon the spot}, immediately; before
moving; without changing place; as, he made his decision
on the spot.
It was determined upon the spot. --Swift.
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Syn: Stain; flaw; speck; blot; disgrace; reproach; fault;
blemish; place; site; locality.
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From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
on the spot
adv 1: without delay or immediately; "we hired her on the spot";
"thought they were going to shoot us down on the spot"
2: in a difficult situation; "that question really put him on
the spot"
3: at the place in question; there; "they were on the spot when
it happened"; "it had to be decided by the man on the spot"
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