as in discovery
the act or process of sighting or learning the existence of something for the first time
the spotting of a new bird is always a thrill for an avid bird-watcher
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in sprinkling
to mark with small spots especially unevenly
to give the effect of sunlight on water, the artist spotted the lake in his painting with flecks of gold paint
Synonyms & Similar Words
2
as in noticing
to make note of (something) through the use of one's eyes
I spotted both of them as they tried to sneak out the back door
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in spraying
to cover by or as if by scattering something over or on
the TV networks had spotted reporters all over the state for the election
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of spotting
Rachael O'Connor, MSNBC Newsweek, 21 Oct. 2025
The pup, who is described as playful and curious, has become a star in her own right on board, with plenty of cruise travelers vying for a spotting or photo op.
—Kait Hanson, Southern Living, 21 Oct. 2025
According to Us Weekly, the first spotting of this tattoo was in April 2021 at the ACM Awards.
—Michelle Lee, PEOPLE, 1 Oct. 2025
Farther east, Amsterdamse Bos is a forest three times larger than Central Park, with lots of trails and wildlife spotting—and even a ropes-and-zip line course.
—Blane Bachelor, AFAR Media, 1 Oct. 2025
Capitol Reef was designated an International Dark Sky Park in 2015, and autumn's cool, clear nights are a great time to go constellation spotting.
—Patricia Doherty, Travel + Leisure, 16 Sep. 2025
In MLPerf Tiny benchmarks, the X160 Gen 2 reportedly delivered 2x the performance of competing solutions with a similar small footprint, across workloads like keyword spotting, image classification, and anomaly detection.
—Marco Chiappetta, Forbes.com, 8 Sep. 2025
As the inversion lifts in the afternoon, fire behavior will increase to the north and northeast, with group torching, spotting, and uphill runs in mixed conifer stands containing heavy dead and down material.
—Ca Wildfire Bot, Sacbee.com, 2 Sep. 2025
Kissing Bugs Kissing bugs are small, dark, wingless insects with reddish spotting.
—Cristina Mutchler, Verywell Health, 2 Sep. 2025
Evie Carrick, Travel + Leisure, 7 Nov. 2025
In Ocho Rios, the vast fringing reef shelf has drop-offs on the northern side perfect for spotting diverse soft and hard corals like staghorn, sea fan and brain coral.
—Adrienne Jordan, USA Today, 6 Nov. 2025
For now, his warning against market euphoria may still ring true, but his trades suggest that spotting a bubble is one thing, and profiting from it is another.
—Yun Li, CNBC, 5 Nov. 2025
In the Amazon, conservationists are spotting deforestation in near real time.
—Sharon Goldman, Fortune, 4 Nov. 2025
Part of a helicopter rotor ended up lodged into the roof of a residential garage, and a paramedic aboard called in a mayday after spotting the aircraft had lost power shortly moments before the helicopter crashed on Highway 50 in Sacramento last month.
—Rosalio Ahumada, Sacbee.com, 4 Nov. 2025
Therefore, talking about expectations, boundaries, and spotting scams may not be new topics in many families.
—Melissa Willets, Parents, 30 Oct. 2025
Jaylen Clark has a hard time spotting his mom and girlfriend in the Target Center crowd these days.
—Jace Frederick, Twin Cities, 29 Oct. 2025
Johnny only bothered to go home after spotting Raquel and her new riches on Black Veil, too.
—Sophie Brookover, Vulture, 24 Oct. 2025
Noun
This year's Orionids shower is due to peak when there is a new moon, providing darker skies and ideal conditions for meteor spotting.
—Rachael O'Connor, MSNBC Newsweek, 21 Oct. 2025
The pup, who is described as playful and curious, has become a star in her own right on board, with plenty of cruise travelers vying for a spotting or photo op.
—Kait Hanson, Southern Living, 21 Oct. 2025
According to Us Weekly, the first spotting of this tattoo was in April 2021 at the ACM Awards.
—Michelle Lee, PEOPLE, 1 Oct. 2025
Farther east, Amsterdamse Bos is a forest three times larger than Central Park, with lots of trails and wildlife spotting—and even a ropes-and-zip line course.
—Blane Bachelor, AFAR Media, 1 Oct. 2025
Capitol Reef was designated an International Dark Sky Park in 2015, and autumn's cool, clear nights are a great time to go constellation spotting.
—Patricia Doherty, Travel + Leisure, 16 Sep. 2025
In MLPerf Tiny benchmarks, the X160 Gen 2 reportedly delivered 2x the performance of competing solutions with a similar small footprint, across workloads like keyword spotting, image classification, and anomaly detection.
—Marco Chiappetta, Forbes.com, 8 Sep. 2025
As the inversion lifts in the afternoon, fire behavior will increase to the north and northeast, with group torching, spotting, and uphill runs in mixed conifer stands containing heavy dead and down material.
—Ca Wildfire Bot, Sacbee.com, 2 Sep. 2025
Kissing Bugs Kissing bugs are small, dark, wingless insects with reddish spotting.
—Cristina Mutchler, Verywell Health, 2 Sep. 2025
Verb
Oxford Forest Conservation Area Another popular South Island star-spotting area is the Oxford Forest Conservation Area, which was designated as a Dark Sky Park in 2024.
—Evie Carrick, Travel + Leisure, 7 Nov. 2025
In Ocho Rios, the vast fringing reef shelf has drop-offs on the northern side perfect for spotting diverse soft and hard corals like staghorn, sea fan and brain coral.
—Adrienne Jordan, USA Today, 6 Nov. 2025
For now, his warning against market euphoria may still ring true, but his trades suggest that spotting a bubble is one thing, and profiting from it is another.
—Yun Li, CNBC, 5 Nov. 2025
In the Amazon, conservationists are spotting deforestation in near real time.
—Sharon Goldman, Fortune, 4 Nov. 2025
Part of a helicopter rotor ended up lodged into the roof of a residential garage, and a paramedic aboard called in a mayday after spotting the aircraft had lost power shortly moments before the helicopter crashed on Highway 50 in Sacramento last month.
—Rosalio Ahumada, Sacbee.com, 4 Nov. 2025
Therefore, talking about expectations, boundaries, and spotting scams may not be new topics in many families.
—Melissa Willets, Parents, 30 Oct. 2025
Jaylen Clark has a hard time spotting his mom and girlfriend in the Target Center crowd these days.
—Jace Frederick, Twin Cities, 29 Oct. 2025
Johnny only bothered to go home after spotting Raquel and her new riches on Black Veil, too.
—Sophie Brookover, Vulture, 24 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for spotting
Noun
-
The discovery was found in the ancient ruins of Gabii, about 11 miles east of Rome.—
Khloe Quill,
FOXNews.com,
9 Nov. 2025
-
According to researchers, the discovery could pave the way for faster electronics, efficient superconducting wires, and future quantum technologies.—
Jijo Malayil,
Interesting Engineering,
9 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
Consider sprinkling stevia over your oatmeal.—
Carrie Madormo,
Verywell Health,
3 Nov. 2025
-
For tougher stains, Stein suggests sprinkling baking soda over the area and then spraying it with a mixture of vinegar and water.—
Daley Quinn,
Southern Living,
1 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
And when his hospital finally reopened, in February of the following year, doctors began noticing unexpected changes.—
Clayton Dalton,
New Yorker,
11 Nov. 2025
-
He was parked at a self-service bay of a 24-hour car wash two officers pulled into the West Boise business, detained him and used a drug dog to search his vehicle after noticing his parked vehicle.—
Alex Brizee,
Idaho Statesman,
10 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
In a Facebook post, officials said a security camera recorded the man spraying the dogs in their faces while they were secured in their yard.—
Darrell Smith,
Sacbee.com,
7 Nov. 2025
-
After spraying this before a braid takedown, my hair was visibly softer and easier to mange through tangles.—
Caché McClay,
USA Today,
7 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
Út and his attorney dispute the findings of Knight’s team and steadfastly maintain that Út took the photo.—
Maria Fontoura,
Rolling Stone,
7 Nov. 2025
-
Further study is also needed to untangle one puzzling finding.—
Katie Hunt,
CNN Money,
7 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
Visitors were treated to a traditional lion dance, complete with the eye-dotting ceremony that symbolized good fortune and energy for the new venture.—
Lyssanoel Frater,
USA Today,
4 Nov. 2025
-
The area put on a display of yellow aspen trees dotting the mountains between evergreens, their delicate leaves vibrating in the wind.—
Jessica Coacci,
Fortune,
14 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
What airports are seeing flight cancellations?—
Emma Tucker,
CNN Money,
8 Nov. 2025
-
Polls show that economic impacts are driving the voting bloc the most and Latino businesses across the country, from Miami to Los Angeles, are seeing a drop in foot traffic because of ICE agents targeting their communities.—
Karissa Waddick,
USA Today,
7 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
In addition to earlier detection, the study from GRAIL, a biotechnology company, showed that its multi-cancer early detection (MCED) testing method found cancers in organs that don't have routine screening tests.—
Janet Loehrke,
USA Today,
9 Nov. 2025
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This demands extremely fast detection, early warning, and emergency response – key capabilities for modern military and civil defense forces.—
Bojan Stojkovski,
Interesting Engineering,
9 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Spotting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spotting. Accessed 15 Nov. 2025.
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