spotlight

[spot-lahyt]

noun

1. 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.

2. a lamp for producing such a light.

3. 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.

4. the area of immediate or conspicuous public attention.

   Asia is in the spotlight now.

verb (used with object)

spotlighted, spotlit, spotlighting. 

1. to direct the beam of a spotlight upon; light with a spotlight.

2. to make conspicuous; call attention to.

   Newspapers spotlighted the story for a week.

3. to hunt (animals) using a spotlight in order to temporarily blind or confuse them.

verb (used without object)

spotlighted, spotlit, spotlighting. 

1. to hunt by using a spotlight.

spotlight

/ ˈspɒtˌlaɪt /

noun

1. a powerful light focused so as to illuminate a small area, usually mounted so that it can be directed at will

2. the focus of attention

verb

1. to direct a spotlight on

2. to focus attention on

Other Word Forms

• spotlighter noun
• unspotlighted adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of spotlight¹

First recorded in 1910–15; spot + light ¹

Idioms and Phrases

see in the limelight (spotlight); steal the show (spotlight).

Example Sentences

Tiffanie Barrière, award-winning bartender and educator known as “The Drinking Coach,” says these drinks never disappeared — they were just out of the spotlight.

Read more on Salon

Cinema has a long love affair with the office but occasionally spotlights blue-collar workplaces.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

On Friday night, however, Doncic shared the spotlight with Austin Reaves, who continues to be a shining star for the Lakers.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Ms. Rinehart, whose podcast, “The Female Body Politic,” spotlights women’s history, canters through Rankin’s career with the same drive that Rankin exhibited, batting away critics and rarely acknowledging the complexity of federal politics.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Amid rising attention around prediction markets and online gambling, the stock trading app Robinhood Markets jumped back into the spotlight by unveiling a futures and derivatives exchange joint venture with Susquehanna International Group.

Read more on Barron's

Related Words

• fame 
• light 
• limelight 
• notoriety 
• public eye 
• publicity