"on the spot" meaning in English

See on the spot in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Prepositional phrase

Audio: En-au-on the spot.ogg [Australia]
Head templates: {{head|en|prepositional phrase|head=}} on the spot, {{en-prep phrase}} on the spot
  1. (idiomatic) At that very moment. Tags: idiomatic Synonyms: right away, then and there Translations (at the very moment): παραχρῆμα (parakhrêma) (Ancient Greek), шунда уҡ (şunda uq) (Bashkir), 當場 (Chinese Mandarin), 当场 (dāngchǎng) (Chinese Mandarin), ter plekke (Dutch), siinä paikassa (Finnish), saman tien (Finnish), sur-le-champ (French), séance tenante (French), ეგრევე (egreve) (Georgian), მაშინვე (mašinve) (Georgian), auf der Stelle (German), ar an ásc sin (Irish), subito (Italian), immediatamente (Italian), ilico (Latin), illico (Latin), praesto (Latin), на лице место (na lice mesto) [idiomatic] (Macedonian), αυτή τη στιγμή (aftí ti stigmí) (Modern Greek), på flekken (Norwegian Bokmål), på flekken (Norwegian Nynorsk), z miejsca (Polish), неме́дленно (nemédlenno) (Russian), сра́зу (alt: же) (Russian), ту́т же (tút že) (Russian), anns a' bhad (Scottish Gaelic), sa bhad (Scottish Gaelic), på fläcken (Swedish)
    Sense id: en-on_the_spot-en-prep_phrase-zECZX-Sl Disambiguation of 'at the very moment': 97 1 2
  2. (idiomatic) Having to answer or decide without warning or preparation. Tags: idiomatic Translations (having to answer or decide without warning): tiukille (Finnish)
    Sense id: en-on_the_spot-en-prep_phrase-T7fdS3UT Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 22 52 26 Disambiguation of 'having to answer or decide without warning': 5 89 6
  3. (idiomatic) In a particular place. Tags: idiomatic Synonyms: in place, on location, on site, on the premises, in the room Translations (in a particular place): ter plekke (Dutch), paikalla (Finnish), paikan päällä (Finnish), sur place (French), επί τόπου (epí tópou) (Greek), sul posto (Italian), на ме́сте (na méste) (Russian), na mjestu (Serbo-Croatian)
    Sense id: en-on_the_spot-en-prep_phrase-fm2~jkjp Disambiguation of 'in a particular place': 0 1 99
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Related terms: hit the spot, on the dot, on-the-spot [adjective]

Download JSON data for on the spot meaning in English (7.6kB)

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      "expansion": "on the spot",
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      "_dis1": "37 25 38",
      "word": "hit the spot"
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      "_dis1": "37 25 38",
      "word": "on the dot"
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      "_dis1": "37 25 38",
      "tags": [
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      "word": "on-the-spot"
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  "senses": [
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      "categories": [],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "He liked the house, so he made an offer on the spot.",
          "type": "example"
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      ],
      "glosses": [
        "At that very moment."
      ],
      "id": "en-on_the_spot-en-prep_phrase-zECZX-Sl",
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        "(idiomatic) At that very moment."
      ],
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          "word": "right away"
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        {
          "word": "then and there"
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      ],
      "tags": [
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      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "97 1 2",
          "code": "ba",
          "lang": "Bashkir",
          "roman": "şunda uq",
          "sense": "at the very moment",
          "word": "шунда уҡ"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "97 1 2",
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "sense": "at the very moment",
          "word": "當場"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "97 1 2",
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "roman": "dāngchǎng",
          "sense": "at the very moment",
          "word": "当场"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "97 1 2",
          "code": "nl",
          "lang": "Dutch",
          "sense": "at the very moment",
          "word": "ter plekke"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "97 1 2",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "at the very moment",
          "word": "siinä paikassa"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "97 1 2",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "at the very moment",
          "word": "saman tien"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "97 1 2",
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "at the very moment",
          "word": "sur-le-champ"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "97 1 2",
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "at the very moment",
          "word": "séance tenante"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "97 1 2",
          "code": "ka",
          "lang": "Georgian",
          "roman": "egreve",
          "sense": "at the very moment",
          "word": "ეგრევე"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "97 1 2",
          "code": "ka",
          "lang": "Georgian",
          "roman": "mašinve",
          "sense": "at the very moment",
          "word": "მაშინვე"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "97 1 2",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "at the very moment",
          "word": "auf der Stelle"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "97 1 2",
          "code": "grc",
          "lang": "Ancient Greek",
          "roman": "parakhrêma",
          "sense": "at the very moment",
          "word": "παραχρῆμα"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "97 1 2",
          "code": "el",
          "lang": "Modern Greek",
          "roman": "aftí ti stigmí",
          "sense": "at the very moment",
          "word": "αυτή τη στιγμή"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "97 1 2",
          "code": "ga",
          "lang": "Irish",
          "sense": "at the very moment",
          "word": "ar an ásc sin"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "97 1 2",
          "code": "it",
          "lang": "Italian",
          "sense": "at the very moment",
          "word": "subito"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "97 1 2",
          "code": "it",
          "lang": "Italian",
          "sense": "at the very moment",
          "word": "immediatamente"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "97 1 2",
          "code": "la",
          "lang": "Latin",
          "sense": "at the very moment",
          "word": "ilico"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "97 1 2",
          "code": "la",
          "lang": "Latin",
          "sense": "at the very moment",
          "word": "illico"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "97 1 2",
          "code": "la",
          "lang": "Latin",
          "sense": "at the very moment",
          "word": "praesto"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "97 1 2",
          "code": "mk",
          "lang": "Macedonian",
          "roman": "na lice mesto",
          "sense": "at the very moment",
          "tags": [
            "idiomatic"
          ],
          "word": "на лице место"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "97 1 2",
          "code": "nb",
          "lang": "Norwegian Bokmål",
          "sense": "at the very moment",
          "word": "på flekken"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "97 1 2",
          "code": "nn",
          "lang": "Norwegian Nynorsk",
          "sense": "at the very moment",
          "word": "på flekken"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "97 1 2",
          "code": "pl",
          "lang": "Polish",
          "sense": "at the very moment",
          "word": "z miejsca"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "97 1 2",
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "roman": "nemédlenno",
          "sense": "at the very moment",
          "word": "неме́дленно"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "97 1 2",
          "alt": "же",
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "sense": "at the very moment",
          "word": "сра́зу"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "97 1 2",
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "roman": "tút že",
          "sense": "at the very moment",
          "word": "ту́т же"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "97 1 2",
          "code": "gd",
          "lang": "Scottish Gaelic",
          "sense": "at the very moment",
          "word": "anns a' bhad"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "97 1 2",
          "code": "gd",
          "lang": "Scottish Gaelic",
          "sense": "at the very moment",
          "word": "sa bhad"
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          "_dis1": "97 1 2",
          "code": "sv",
          "lang": "Swedish",
          "sense": "at the very moment",
          "word": "på fläcken"
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      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "All the sudden questions put him on the spot and he had to think quickly.",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Having to answer or decide without warning or preparation."
      ],
      "id": "en-on_the_spot-en-prep_phrase-T7fdS3UT",
      "links": [
        [
          "answer",
          "answer"
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          "decide"
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      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic) Having to answer or decide without warning or preparation."
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      "tags": [
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      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "5 89 6",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "having to answer or decide without warning",
          "word": "tiukille"
        }
      ]
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    {
      "categories": [],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "This report comes from our man on the spot in Gaza.",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "text": "We exercised by jumping up and down on the spot.",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1928, Dorothy L. Sayers, “The Abominable History of the Man with Copper Fingers”, in Lord Peter Views the Body",
          "text": "I had accepted an engagement to go out with Mystofilms Ltd. in Fake of Dead Man's Bush—the dwarf-men picture, you know, taken on the spot among the Australian bushmen.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1945 September and October, C. Hamilton Ellis, “Royal Trains—V”, in Railway Magazine, pages 251–252",
          "text": "[…] on October 29, 1888, the Russian imperial train was derailed at Borki by defective track, and twenty-one persons were killed. Although these did not include the Emperor Alexander III, who escaped with a bruising, a footman serving coffee to him at the critical moment, and his dog, which was lying on the floor beside him, were both killed on the spot.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "In a particular place."
      ],
      "id": "en-on_the_spot-en-prep_phrase-fm2~jkjp",
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic) In a particular place."
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "in place"
        },
        {
          "word": "on location"
        },
        {
          "word": "on site"
        },
        {
          "word": "on the premises"
        },
        {
          "word": "in the room"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "0 1 99",
          "code": "nl",
          "lang": "Dutch",
          "sense": "in a particular place",
          "word": "ter plekke"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "0 1 99",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "in a particular place",
          "word": "paikalla"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "0 1 99",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "in a particular place",
          "word": "paikan päällä"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "0 1 99",
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "in a particular place",
          "word": "sur place"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "0 1 99",
          "code": "el",
          "lang": "Greek",
          "roman": "epí tópou",
          "sense": "in a particular place",
          "word": "επί τόπου"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "0 1 99",
          "code": "it",
          "lang": "Italian",
          "sense": "in a particular place",
          "word": "sul posto"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "0 1 99",
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "roman": "na méste",
          "sense": "in a particular place",
          "word": "на ме́сте"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "0 1 99",
          "code": "sh",
          "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
          "sense": "in a particular place",
          "word": "na mjestu"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
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      "audio": "En-au-on the spot.ogg",
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  "pos": "prep_phrase",
  "related": [
    {
      "word": "hit the spot"
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    {
      "word": "on the dot"
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        "adjective"
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      "word": "on-the-spot"
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        {
          "text": "He liked the house, so he made an offer on the spot.",
          "type": "example"
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      "glosses": [
        "At that very moment."
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic) At that very moment."
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      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "right away"
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          "text": "All the sudden questions put him on the spot and he had to think quickly.",
          "type": "example"
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      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Having to answer or decide without warning or preparation."
      ],
      "links": [
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        "(idiomatic) Having to answer or decide without warning or preparation."
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          "type": "example"
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        {
          "text": "We exercised by jumping up and down on the spot.",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1928, Dorothy L. Sayers, “The Abominable History of the Man with Copper Fingers”, in Lord Peter Views the Body",
          "text": "I had accepted an engagement to go out with Mystofilms Ltd. in Fake of Dead Man's Bush—the dwarf-men picture, you know, taken on the spot among the Australian bushmen.",
          "type": "quotation"
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        {
          "ref": "1945 September and October, C. Hamilton Ellis, “Royal Trains—V”, in Railway Magazine, pages 251–252",
          "text": "[…] on October 29, 1888, the Russian imperial train was derailed at Borki by defective track, and twenty-one persons were killed. Although these did not include the Emperor Alexander III, who escaped with a bruising, a footman serving coffee to him at the critical moment, and his dog, which was lying on the floor beside him, were both killed on the spot.",
          "type": "quotation"
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      ],
      "glosses": [
        "In a particular place."
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      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic) In a particular place."
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "in place"
        },
        {
          "word": "on location"
        },
        {
          "word": "on site"
        },
        {
          "word": "on the premises"
        },
        {
          "word": "in the room"
        }
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  "sounds": [
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  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "ba",
      "lang": "Bashkir",
      "roman": "şunda uq",
      "sense": "at the very moment",
      "word": "шунда уҡ"
    },
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "sense": "at the very moment",
      "word": "當場"
    },
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "roman": "dāngchǎng",
      "sense": "at the very moment",
      "word": "当场"
    },
    {
      "code": "nl",
      "lang": "Dutch",
      "sense": "at the very moment",
      "word": "ter plekke"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "at the very moment",
      "word": "siinä paikassa"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "at the very moment",
      "word": "saman tien"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "at the very moment",
      "word": "sur-le-champ"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "at the very moment",
      "word": "séance tenante"
    },
    {
      "code": "ka",
      "lang": "Georgian",
      "roman": "egreve",
      "sense": "at the very moment",
      "word": "ეგრევე"
    },
    {
      "code": "ka",
      "lang": "Georgian",
      "roman": "mašinve",
      "sense": "at the very moment",
      "word": "მაშინვე"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "at the very moment",
      "word": "auf der Stelle"
    },
    {
      "code": "grc",
      "lang": "Ancient Greek",
      "roman": "parakhrêma",
      "sense": "at the very moment",
      "word": "παραχρῆμα"
    },
    {
      "code": "el",
      "lang": "Modern Greek",
      "roman": "aftí ti stigmí",
      "sense": "at the very moment",
      "word": "αυτή τη στιγμή"
    },
    {
      "code": "ga",
      "lang": "Irish",
      "sense": "at the very moment",
      "word": "ar an ásc sin"
    },
    {
      "code": "it",
      "lang": "Italian",
      "sense": "at the very moment",
      "word": "subito"
    },
    {
      "code": "it",
      "lang": "Italian",
      "sense": "at the very moment",
      "word": "immediatamente"
    },
    {
      "code": "la",
      "lang": "Latin",
      "sense": "at the very moment",
      "word": "ilico"
    },
    {
      "code": "la",
      "lang": "Latin",
      "sense": "at the very moment",
      "word": "illico"
    },
    {
      "code": "la",
      "lang": "Latin",
      "sense": "at the very moment",
      "word": "praesto"
    },
    {
      "code": "mk",
      "lang": "Macedonian",
      "roman": "na lice mesto",
      "sense": "at the very moment",
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic"
      ],
      "word": "на лице место"
    },
    {
      "code": "nb",
      "lang": "Norwegian Bokmål",
      "sense": "at the very moment",
      "word": "på flekken"
    },
    {
      "code": "nn",
      "lang": "Norwegian Nynorsk",
      "sense": "at the very moment",
      "word": "på flekken"
    },
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "sense": "at the very moment",
      "word": "z miejsca"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "roman": "nemédlenno",
      "sense": "at the very moment",
      "word": "неме́дленно"
    },
    {
      "alt": "же",
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "sense": "at the very moment",
      "word": "сра́зу"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "roman": "tút že",
      "sense": "at the very moment",
      "word": "ту́т же"
    },
    {
      "code": "gd",
      "lang": "Scottish Gaelic",
      "sense": "at the very moment",
      "word": "anns a' bhad"
    },
    {
      "code": "gd",
      "lang": "Scottish Gaelic",
      "sense": "at the very moment",
      "word": "sa bhad"
    },
    {
      "code": "sv",
      "lang": "Swedish",
      "sense": "at the very moment",
      "word": "på fläcken"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "having to answer or decide without warning",
      "word": "tiukille"
    },
    {
      "code": "nl",
      "lang": "Dutch",
      "sense": "in a particular place",
      "word": "ter plekke"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "in a particular place",
      "word": "paikalla"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "in a particular place",
      "word": "paikan päällä"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "in a particular place",
      "word": "sur place"
    },
    {
      "code": "el",
      "lang": "Greek",
      "roman": "epí tópou",
      "sense": "in a particular place",
      "word": "επί τόπου"
    },
    {
      "code": "it",
      "lang": "Italian",
      "sense": "in a particular place",
      "word": "sul posto"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "roman": "na méste",
      "sense": "in a particular place",
      "word": "на ме́сте"
    },
    {
      "code": "sh",
      "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
      "sense": "in a particular place",
      "word": "na mjestu"
    }
  ],
  "word": "on the spot"
}
{
  "called_from": "form_descriptions/2028",
  "msg": "more than one value in \"alt\": srázu (že) vs. же",
  "path": [
    "on the spot"
  ],
  "section": "English",
  "subsection": "prepositional phrase",
  "title": "on the spot",
  "trace": ""
}

This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-05-01 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-04-21 using wiktextract (f4fd8c9 and c9440ce). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.