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.
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the area of immediate or conspicuous public attention.
Asia is in the spotlight now.
verb (used with object)
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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.
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to make conspicuous; call attention to.
Newspapers spotlighted the story for a week.
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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
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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:
Thrust into the spotlight, she was invited to an event alongside film and music stars.
From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026
The Mediterranean diet is back in the spotlight.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 16, 2026
Dumb luck and a last-minute assist from his less charismatic, bumbling pseudo-sibling finally get him into the spotlight.
From Salon ● Aug. 16, 2026
Jared Kushner—husband of Ivanka Trump, broker of attempts at Middle East peace, and developer of vacation real estate—is used to being in the spotlight.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026
Barack had to make a difficult call, phoning the pastor and asking whether he'd be willing to step back from the spotlight, giving us a private backstage blessing instead.
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
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
Gathering over 300 works, an expansive exhibition at the Grand Palais spotlights the artist’s creatively fertile final years.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 7, 2026
Swaying spotlights atop the massive stage swayed back in forth like searchlights in a storm.
From Barron's ● Jul. 5, 2026
Rather than trying to brighten the room, he leaned into the moodiness by buying inexpensive, USB battery-powered spotlights that are mounted on the ceiling with magnets.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 26, 2026
And I saw lights in the ghetto, spotlights blazing, leaving the other places inky in the dark.
From "The Light in Hidden Places" by Sharon Cameron
However, the stock has been on a year-long rally, fanned recently by the Middle East conflict which has spotlighted the importance of local fuel storage.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 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
"So it's amazing when you can get spotlighted in that way and you're still breaking through but you're around these huge heritage names," Maisie says.
From BBC ● Mar. 27, 2026
The justice did more than accuse her colleagues of misapplying the law; she also spotlighted their refusal to defend their actions, suggesting that they stayed silent because they had no defense.
From Slate ● Mar. 17, 2026
He had inched him up through back alleys and smaller races, bypassing the nationally spotlighted races in favor of slow cultivation and parochial seclusion.
From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand
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
The spine of the play is a spotlit monologue by Janina, who dips in and out of the action as it unfolds around her.
From New York Times ● Mar. 29, 2023
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
“Vanderpump Rules” alum Jax Taylor blamed an “honest mistake” after posting an unauthorized #partner campaign for Smartwater, spotlighting vulnerabilities in third-party influencer platforms.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026
Family was a major theme of the night, with numerous stars spotlighting their talented progeny, as was the importance of soulful artistry.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 29, 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
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.
