spotlight

[spot-lahyt] /ˈspɒtˌlaɪt/
noun
1.
a strong, focused light thrown upon a particular spot, as on a small area of a stage or in a television studio, for making some object, person, or group especially conspicuous.
2.
a lamp for producing such a light.
3.
a brilliant light with a focused beam, mounted on the side of an automobile and used for illuminating objects not within range of the headlights.
4.
the area of immediate or conspicuous public attention:
Asia is in the spotlight now.
verb (used with object), spotlighted or spotlit, spotlighting.
5.
to direct the beam of a spotlight upon; light with a spotlight.
6.
to make conspicuous; call attention to:
Newspapers spotlighted the story for a week.
7.
to hunt (animals) using a spotlight in order to temporarily blind or confuse them.
verb (used without object), spotlighted or spotlit, spotlighting.
8.
to hunt by using a spotlight.
Origin
1910-15; spot + light1
Related forms
spotlighter, noun
unspotlighted, adjective
Examples from the web for spotlight
  • Lanza and his company have had plenty of experience in the spotlight, but the attention has not always been flattering.
  • It took champions, in and out of the spotlight, to bring these food cultures the respect and attention they deserve.
  • When it comes to focus, turning on the spotlight may not matter as much as our ability to dim the ambient light.
  • Do spotlight him again when he has some beautiful feathers.
  • Our boatman scans the shoreline with a powerful spotlight.
  • After a single exposure to the spotlight, actin crept toward spots that touched adjacent neurons, but soon receded.
  • The results of the new study also put social-science research under the spotlight.
  • In the suddenly zooming story of electric cars, it's the cars themselves that have tended to hog the spotlight.
  • Later in the week, for-profit colleges will find themselves back in the spotlight.
  • If you shine a spotlight on one, it will sidle off to somewhere darker.
British Dictionary definitions for spotlight

spotlight

/ˈspɒtˌlaɪt/
noun
1.
a powerful light focused so as to illuminate a small area, usually mounted so that it can be directed at will
2.
the spotlight, the focus of attention
verb (transitive) -lights, -lighting, -lit, -lighted
3.
to direct a spotlight on
4.
to focus attention on
Word Origin and History for spotlight
n.

1904, from spot (n.) + light (n.). Originally a theatrical equipment; figurative sense is attested from 1916. The verb is first recorded 1923.

Slang definitions & phrases for spotlight

spotlight

verb

To single out prominently; focus on for emphasis: He was trying to spotlight the danger of high deficits (1942+)

Related Terms

in the spotlight


Idioms and Phrases with spotlight

spotlight

see:
Encyclopedia Article for spotlight

device used to produce intense illumination in a well-defined area in stage, film, television, ballet, and opera production. It resembles a small searchlight but usually has shutters, an iris diaphragm, and adjustable lenses to shape the projected light. Coloured light is produced by a mechanism for sliding or rotating coloured gelatin filters, called gels even though later made of acetate, into the beam. The first theatrical spotlight was the limelight (q.v.), which gave way to such light sources as the arc, electric discharge, and incandescent lamp. The practical lensed spotlight was developed in 1879 by Louis Hartmann of the United States.

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