on-the-spot
adjective
done or occurring at the time or place in question.
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on-the-spot
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on the spot
on the spot
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]
on-the-spot
American
[on-thuh-spot, awn-]
/ ˈɒn ðəˌspɒt, ˈɔn- /
adjective
on the spot
Idioms
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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]
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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]
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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]
Etymology
Origin of on-the-spot
First recorded in 1885–90
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:
Soaring on-the-spot gas prices hit Evonik facilities in Illinois, Indiana, Tennessee and Nebraska this winter, too.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 10, 2026
The district — where nearly all students come from low-income families — also brings in corps of tutors who walk the class and offer on-the-spot help.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 11, 2025
This would mean on-the-spot fines of £200 for retailers selling unregulated products or to people aged under 18.
From BBC ● Nov. 4, 2024
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
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
The 23-year-old was hired on the spot by Haggis Waggon Tours boss Darryl Smith after meeting him at a job fair in Paisley.
From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2026
“If I had not told the truth, completely and right on the spot, everything that followed would have been different.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 3, 2026
He then instructed me to pull back into the driveway and patched the tire for me on the spot.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
Governor Christopher Waller, a former economics professor with a reputation for saying what others won’t, put Warsh on the spot, according to several people familiar with the dinner.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
Bad things always happened when I got put on the spot.
From "Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky" by Kwame Mbalia
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.
