on the spot

on the spot

See also: on-the-spot

English

Pronunciation

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Prepositional phrase

on the spot

1. (idiomatic) At that very moment.

   Synonyms: right away, then and there

   He liked the house, so he made an offer on the spot.

2. (idiomatic) Having to answer or decide without warning or preparation.

   All the sudden questions put him on the spot and he had to think quickly.

3. (idiomatic) In a particular place.

   Synonyms: in place, on location, on site, on the premises, in the room

   This report comes from our man on the spot in Gaza.

   We exercised by jumping up and down on the spot.

   • 1928, Dorothy L. Sayers, "The Abominable History of the Man with Copper Fingers", in Lord Peter Views the Body,

     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.

   • 1945 September and October, C. Hamilton Ellis, “Royal Trains—V”, in Railway Magazine, pages 251-252:

     […] 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.

Translations

at the very moment

Bashkir: шунда уҡ (şunda uq) Chinese: Mandarin: 當場／当场 (zh) (dāngchǎng) Dutch: ter plekke (nl) Finnish: siinä paikassa, saman tien French: sur-le-champ (fr), séance tenante (fr) Georgian: ეგრევე (egreve), მაშინვე (mašinve) German: auf der Stelle (de) Greek: Ancient: παραχρῆμα (parakhrêma) Modern: αυτή τη στιγμή (aftí ti stigmí) Irish: ar an ásc sin Italian: subito (it), immediatamente (it) Latin: ilico, illico, praesto Macedonian: на лице место (na lice mesto) (idiomatic) Norwegian: Bokmål: på flekken Nynorsk: på flekken Russian: неме́дленно (ru) (nemédlenno), сра́зу (же) (ru) (srázu (že)), ту́т же (tút že) Scottish Gaelic: anns a' bhad, sa bhad Swedish: på fläcken (sv)

having to answer or decide without warning

Chinese: Mandarin: please add this translation if you can Finnish: tiukille Russian: please add this translation if you can

in a particular place

Chinese: Mandarin: please add this translation if you can Dutch: ter plekke (nl) Finnish: paikalla (fi), paikan päällä (fi) French: sur place (fr) Greek: επί τόπου (el) (epí tópou) Italian: sul posto Russian: на ме́сте (ru) (na méste) Serbo-Croatian: na mjestu

See also

• hit the spot
• on the dot
• on-the-spot (adjective)