spectate
Americanverb (used without object)
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spectates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
spectated,
past participle, past
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spectating
present participle
verb
Usage
What does spectate mean? Literally, to spectate is to watch, observe, or witness something, as in When you’re spectating a marathon, be sure to cheer loudly for the runners when they pass. Spectate is most often used in reference to watching an event, such as a football game, concert, or even a video game. In video gaming, particularly in competitive games and esports, there is often a spectate mode in which one player can view the actions of another. In many team-based esports, when one player is eliminated from a match, their screen will start to spectate one of their teammates’ so they can continue to provide input on their actions. Depending on the video game, people can also spectate players without even being in the same group as them. In gambling, when you are betting on a competition, such as a soccer game or horse race, you are said to be spectating the competition. Figuratively, this means you are watching the event in order to place a bet on it. Sports betting and performance spectating can range from small, one-time bets to large, and sometimes illegal, gambling. Spectate is a back formation of spectator, which means someone who looks on. Example: Owen gets frustrated whenever he’s forced to spectate in his favorite video game.
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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spectatesimple
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spectatessimple
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have spectatedperfect
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has spectatedperfect
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am spectatingprogressive
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are spectatingprogressive
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is spectatingprogressive
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have been spectatingperfect progressive
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has been spectatingperfect progressive
Past
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spectatedsimple
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had spectatedperfect
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was spectatingprogressive
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were spectatingprogressive
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had been spectatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of spectate
First recorded in 1700–10; back formation from spectator
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
I love doing the NBA but that was a long time ago and I’m happy just to spectate next year and beyond.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 22, 2024
Count Philip of Flanders would often arrive at the lists with his retinue and publicly declare his intention to spectate rather than fight.
From Salon ● Aug. 10, 2024
It invites audience members to not spectate, but participate.
From New York Times ● Jun. 7, 2023
For the first time in South African history, Mathabane adds, black people were able to play and spectate at the tournament.
From BBC ● May 30, 2023
Nobody moved to stop the men, although a number of people, villagers and newcomers alike, went outside to spectate.
From "Stardust" by Neil Gaiman
Reserve guard Rodrick Tialavea spectated from the sidelines three days after suffering an unspecified injury.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 9, 2022
Backup outside receiver CJ Moore wore street clothes and spectated practice.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 5, 2022
Veteran offensive tackles Abe Lucas and Liam Ryan spectated from the sideline.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 21, 2021
In his criticism, John Berger writes about how the woman is always the spectator and the spectated, trained to see herself as how she must appear.
From The Guardian ● Nov. 18, 2018
Ain't I spectated when the ha'r on Jezebel's back haz riz straight up an' when she's hunched her back up an' spit when mos' folks wouldn't of saw nothin' a-tall?
From Daughter of the Sun A Tale of Adventure by Jackson Gregory
The event began in 2008 with about 2,200 participants but has expanded to approximately 10,000 swimmers and more than double that number spectating.
From BBC ● Jun. 14, 2026
The Brewers’ bullpen was suddenly as rickety as the Dodgers’, and that was with Sasaki just spectating.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 14, 2025
When the day of the clearing came, with the exception of a cluster of National Guard officers spectating from the metro entrance, it was a return to D.C.’s typical protocol.
From Slate ● Oct. 8, 2025
“It seemed like it was kind of spectating and seeing what was going on.”
From Seattle Times ● May 16, 2023
Similar blast craters had crumbled a middle tier, where there were a handful of seats for spectating.
From Anya and the Nightingale by Sofiya Pasternack
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
