SPOT

I. noun Etymology: Middle English; akin to Middle Dutch ~te stain, speck, Old Norse ~ti small piece Date: 13th century a taint on character or reputation ; fault , 2. a small area visibly different (as in color, finish, or material) from the surrounding area, b. an area marred or marked (as by dirt), a circumscribed surface lesion of disease (as measles) or decay , a conventionalized design used on playing cards to distinguish the suits and indicate values, an object having a specified number of ~s or a specified numeral on its surface, a small quantity or amount ; bit , 5. a particular place, area, or part, a small extent of space, a small croaker ( Leiostomus xanthurus ) of the Atlantic coast with a black ~ behind the opercula, 7. a particular position (as in an organization or a hierarchy), a place or appearance on an entertainment program, ~light , a position usually of difficulty or embarrassment, a brief announcement or advertisement broadcast between scheduled radio or television programs, a brief segment or report on a broadcast especially of news, II. verb (~ted; ~ting) Date: 14th century transitive verb to stain the character or reputation of ; disgrace , to mark in or with a ~ ; stain , to locate or identify by a ~, 4. to single out ; identify , detect , notice , c. to locate accurately , to cause to strike accurately , 5. to lie at intervals in or over ; stud , to place at intervals or in a desired ~ , to fix in or as if in the beam of a ~light, to schedule in a particular ~ or at a particular time, to remove a ~ from, to allow as a handicap, intransitive verb to become stained or discolored in ~s, to cause a ~, to act as a ~ter, to experience abnormal and sporadic bleeding in small amounts from the uterus, ~table adjective III. adjective Date: 1881 1. being, originating, or done on the ~ or in or for a particular ~ , available for immediate delivery after sale , c. paid out upon delivery , involving immediate cash payment , d. broadcast between scheduled programs , originating in a local station for a national advertiser, performing occasionally when needed , made at random or restricted to a few places or instances