spot

I

(New American Roget's College Thesaurus)

n. place, locality, site; blotch, dapple, speckle, macula; smear, spatter, daub, blot; blemish, flaw, stain, stigma. See location, disrepute.

- on the spot

II

(Roget's IV) modif.

Syn. prompt, ready, instantaneous; see immediate 1 .

n.

1. [A dot]

Syn. speck, flaw, pimple; see bit 1 , blemish .

2. [A place]

Syn. point, locality, scene; see place 3 .

3. [Small amount]

Syn. minute quantity, little bit, pinch; see bit 1 .

• hit the high spots*,

Syn.

4. hurry, travel rapidly, make good time*; see speed .

5. treat hastily, go over lightly, touch up; see neglect 1 , 2 .

• hit the spot*,

Syn. please, delight, taste good, be just right; see satisfy 1 .

• in a bad spot*,

Syn. in danger, in trouble, in difficulty, threatened, in a bad situation, on the spot*; see also dangerous 1 , 2 .

• on the spot,

6. [Quickly]

Syn. immediately, now, at once; see immediately .

7. [*In trouble]

Syn. in danger, in difficulty, in a corner.

v.

1. [Stain]

Syn. blemish, blotch, splatter; see dirty , spatter .

2. [Point out]

Syn. find, detect, recognize; see locate 1 .

III

(Roget's 3 Superthesaurus)

I

n.

1. stain blot, speck, smudge, mark, splotch, discoloration, speckle, dot, patch, daub, smirch.

2. location locale, position, point, place, site, area, section, setting, region, space.

3. dilemma bind, *sticky situation, fix, mess, predicament, *pickle, jam.

II

v.

1. stain blot, blemish, smudge, mark, discolor, speckle, daub, dirty, splash, sprinkle, fleck.

2. see detect, recognize, make out, pinpoint, discern, spy, sight, catch sight of, find, identify.

IV

(Roget's Thesaurus II) I noun 1. A very small mark: dash, dot, fleck, pinpoint, point, speck. See MARKS. 2. A mark of discredit or disgrace: black eye, blemish, blot, onus, stain, stigma, taint, tarnish. Archaic: attaint. Idiom: a blot on one's escutcheon. See MARKS, RESPECT. 3. A particular portion of space chosen for something: location, locus, place, point. See PLACE. 4. A post of employment: appointment, berth, billet, job, office, place, position, situation, slot. Slang: gig. See PLACE. 5. Informal. A difficult, often embarrassing situation or condition: box1, corner, deep water, difficulty, dilemma, Dutch, fix, hole, hot spot, hot water, jam, plight1, predicament, quagmire, scrape, soup, trouble. Informal: bind, pickle. See EASY. 6. Chiefly British. A tiny amount: bit1, crumb, dab1, dash, dot, dram, drop, fragment, grain, iota, jot, minim, mite, modicum, molecule, ort, ounce, particle, scrap1, scruple, shred, smidgen, speck, tittle, trifle, whit. See BIG. II verb 1. To mark or soil with spots: bespatter, blotch, spatter, splatter, splotch. See MARKS. 2. To put in or assign to a certain position or location: emplace, install, locate, place, position, set1, site, situate. See PLACE. 3. To perceive, especially barely or fleetingly: catch, descry, detect, discern, espy, glimpse, spy. See SEE. 4. To perceive and fix the identity of, especially with difficulty: descry, discern, distinguish, make out, pick out. See SEE. 5. To look for and discover: find, locate, pinpoint. See GET. III adjective Having no particular pattern, purpose, organization, or structure: chance, desultory, haphazard, hit-or-miss, indiscriminate, random, unplanned. See PLANNED.