At once, without delay, as in When the boss learned Tom had been lying, he fired him on the spot . This usage suggests that one does not have time to move away from a particular spot. [Late 1600s]
At once, without delay, as in When the boss learned Tom had been lying, he fired him on the spot . This usage suggests that one does not have time to move away from a particular spot. [Late 1600s]
At the scene of action, as in Whenever there's a bad accident or fire, you can be sure the station will have a reporter on the spot . This usage also employs spot in the sense of “a particular location.” [Late 1600s]
Under pressure or in trouble, as in He's on the spot, because he can't pay back the loan . It is also phrased as put on the spot , meaning “put under pressure.” For example, The reporter's question put her on the spot; she didn't want to lie or to admit her part in the scandal . [First half of 1900s]
First recorded in 1885–90
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Others only were able to keep running because the company paid prices for on-the-spot gas that had surged to several times the typical price.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 10, 2026
So, in terms of stress, watching baby animals playing is the opposite of a surprise job interview or an on-the-spot subtraction task.
From BBC • Oct. 12, 2025
They could search for injured and trapped people in an earthquake or a collapsed building, for example, and apply on-the-spot care, such as administering CPR.
From Science Daily • May 3, 2024
Among the on-the-spot penalty creations: hugging, dancing and “too many hot dogs on the ice.”
From Seattle Times • Feb. 21, 2024
Rather, he was something of a poet, an inventor of on-the-spot ballads called corridos, and at one time he had been able to read and write in both English and Spanish.
From "The Milagro Beanfield War" by John Nichols
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.
