spotlight
Americannoun
-
spotlights
plural
-
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.
-
a lamp for producing such a light.
-
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.
-
the area of immediate or conspicuous public attention.
Asia is in the spotlight now.
verb (used with object)
-
spotlights,
present (3rd person singular)
-
spotlighted,
past participle, past
-
spotlit,
past participle, past
-
spotlighting
present participle
-
to direct the beam of a spotlight upon; light with a spotlight.
-
to make conspicuous; call attention to.
Newspapers spotlighted the story for a week.
-
to hunt (animals) using a spotlight in order to temporarily blind or confuse them.
verb (used without object)
-
spotlights,
present (3rd person singular)
-
spotlighted,
past participle, past
-
spotlit,
past participle, past
-
spotlighting
present participle
noun
-
a powerful light focused so as to illuminate a small area, usually mounted so that it can be directed at will
-
the focus of attention
verb
-
to direct a spotlight on
-
to focus attention on
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
spotlightsimple
-
spotlightssimple
-
have spotlightedperfect
-
have spotlitperfect
-
has spotlightedperfect
-
has spotlitperfect
-
am spotlightingprogressive
-
are spotlightingprogressive
-
is spotlightingprogressive
-
have been spotlightingperfect progressive
-
has been spotlightingperfect progressive
Past
-
spotlightedsimple
-
spotlitsimple
-
had spotlightedperfect
-
had spotlitperfect
-
was spotlightingprogressive
-
were spotlightingprogressive
-
had been spotlightingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of spotlight
Explanation
A spotlight is a bright beam of light that shines on people on stage. Actors and rock stars love spending time in the spotlight when they’re performing, but if they’re famous they’re in the spotlight all the time. If you star in the school play, you'll be in a literal spotlight, illuminated on the stage while you sing your big solo number. If some day you're elected President of the United States, you'll be in a figurative spotlight, at the center of intense attention by the public. You can also call this limelight. Lighting experts often call spotlights followspots.
Vocabulary lists containing spotlight
Theater - Introductory
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Theater - Middle School
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Theater - High School
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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:
As a spotlight shone over him, Styles made a moving speech, in which he honoured Liam Payne, who died two years ago after falling from a hotel balcony in Argentina.
From BBC ● Oct. 17, 2026
Southwest was in the spotlight for other news, too.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026
The issue will be in the spotlight at the COP31 climate summit in Turkey next month, with the hosts saying they will push for "climate-responsible AI".
From Barron's ● Oct. 15, 2026
Guilfoyle’s resignation caps an unusual, decades-long run in the public spotlight that has captivated many, particularly in California, where she was formerly married to Gov. Gavin Newsom.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026
An invisible humming engine shone a small spotlight onto one corner of her desk, to the upper right of the geometry text, and the triangles they were studying all looked like bread.
From "Habibi" by Naomi Shihab Nye
That the case spotlights this kind of story at all is important in its own right.
From Slate ● Oct. 16, 2026
But if the building appears to predict a series of high-tech galleries, tricked out with holograms, audio spotlights or mixed reality rooms, the Lucas museum is surprisingly old-school.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 2026
The Independent spotlights fears of the impact of the migrant crossing across Europe, with Italy suspending the EU's border-free Schengen arrangements with Spain.
From BBC ● Jul. 31, 2026
This poignant exhibition at the University of Cambridge spotlights work made during or after violent conflict, ranging from World War I ‘trench art’ to artifacts from the current war in Ukraine.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026
Dozens of colored spotlights sweep back and forth across the space.
From "Warcross" by Marie Lu
Home Depot and other big retailers’ earnings have long been spotlighted as an indicator of the current health of the U.S. consumer — especially as borrowing costs have hit multiyear highs.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 18, 2026
While the decade’s counterculture gets most of the press, some of the best pop spotlighted more intimate stories set in America’s heartland.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 23, 2026
Among the countries spotlighted are Brazil, Mexico, Honduras, Portugal, Colombia, Croatia, El Salvador, France and Japan — though she is planning to add African countries to the lineup.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 5, 2026
Zuckerberg spotlighted a new Muse Spark AI model built by Meta's nascent "Superintelligence Lab", saying its technology will be put to work in Meta's offerings such as smartglasses and its advertising system.
From Barron's ● Apr. 29, 2026
Akira was afraid the pilot wouldn’t see them in time, but then a bright light on the helicopter clicked on and spotlighted them.
From "Two Degrees" by Alan Gratz
That was the earliest memory I have of actually seeing a Deaf person being kind of spotlit, in any way.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2025
Summer, 1954 With her paper-cluttered desk spotlit underneath a pendant lamp, Margaret Mead’s office in the western turret in the American Museum of Natural History resembled a Broadway theater set.
From Slate ● Feb. 10, 2024
One species in particular gets spotlit in the new report: beavers.
From The Verge ● Dec. 14, 2021
The jaunty, loose phrasing of the songs allowed space for electrifying dance solos, always in observance of good jazz etiquette, with the ensemble growing quiet while the spotlit artist tore up the floor.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 4, 2021
Below, as though spotlit, is the scene of resurrection.
From New York Times ● Sep. 23, 2020
Building trust took time, but showing Voltarc our commitment to spotlighting the history and craft of neon convinced the manufacturer to open its doors.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
"Red card for Infantino" writes the Daily Mirror, spotlighting the man at the centre of the maelstrom: Fifa boss Gianni Infantino.
From BBC ● Jul. 31, 2026
ESA's Mars Express mission is spotlighting Shalbatana Vallis this month, an enormous Martian valley marked by evidence of ancient water, volcanic activity, impact craters, and collapsed terrain.
From Science Daily ● May 15, 2026
Early programming reflected that, spotlighting smaller stories from flyover America that would have otherwise gone uncovered by larger media outlets.
From Slate ● Apr. 21, 2026
But the Inspectors’ cars were forever snooping and spotlighting those dark streets, taking from poor men their one privacy, the night.
From "The Left Hand of Darkness" by Ursula K. Le Guin
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