pin spot

¹ American

noun

Theater.

a spotlight that produces a narrow beam of light illuminating a very small part of a stage, used especially to focus attention on a detail.
the beam of light so produced.

pin-spot ² American

[pin-spot] / ˈpɪnˌspɒt /

verb (used with object)

Theater.

pin-spotted, pin-spotting

to illuminate with a pin spot.

Etymology

Origin of pin spot¹

First recorded in 1945–50

Origin of pin-spot²

v. use of pin spot

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.

It was very sweet to watch Midler walk to the center of the stage, turn her face up to the pin spot, and start addressing a lost love: the moment was filled with memories of Midler, Bette in a thousand and one previous incarnations, including herself.

From The New Yorker

For whatever reason, there's something of 007 in his chachka: a seemingly ordinary butane lighter becomes, with the flick of a switch, a pin spot throwing the color image of a smiling Nasrullah.

From Time

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023