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
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Recent Examples of spotting
Charna Flam, PEOPLE, 9 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
Enjoy a Florida-style expedition at the 1,322-acre Micro Scrub Sanctuary, a natural scrubby flatwoods and mesic flatwoods habitat that includes miles of trails for hiking, biking, and wildlife spotting.
—Tara Massouleh McCay, Southern Living, 1 Sep. 2025
The Florian also is a great spot for plane spotting.
—Blane Bachelor, AFAR Media, 28 Aug. 2025
To accomplish this, Barton turned to the fundamental dance technique of spotting, where the dancer finds a focal point in front of them and whips their head around to hold that focus spot and keep themself centered.
—Oliver Sava, Vulture, 28 Aug. 2025
The spotting comes a week after Dominic McLaughlin, who is playing Harry Potter, was photographed on set.
—Carson Blackwelder, People.com, 25 Aug. 2025
Ca Wildfire Bot, Sacbee.com, 12 Sep. 2025
Colorado potato beetles on your potatoes, a defoliated tomato branch (likely due to tomato hornworms), or some spotting on your zinnias are all easily visible.
—Andy Wilcox, Better Homes & Gardens, 11 Sep. 2025
Balance Instinct With Investigation And Analysis Leaders (and all of us) can use intuition to guide our judgment and decisions, from reading the room to making quick calls and spotting new paths forward.
—Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 11 Sep. 2025
The centerpiece of its design is a cardinal, and living in the South, many of us have watched the trees for these beloved birds as an early sign of spring each year (especially for those in Virginia spotting their state bird).
—Caley Sturgill, Southern Living, 7 Sep. 2025
However, critics see it as rooting for the underdog running amok, spotting an academic Marxist concept used to limit a free society.
—John Scott Lewinski, The Washington Examiner, 5 Sep. 2025
More generally, the red carpet has awash with Armani this year, with Blanchett stepping out in a vintage black gown at the opening ceremony and one fashion site spotting no-less than 13 outfits from the luxury brand at the Frankenstein premiere.
—Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 4 Sep. 2025
The verse resumes, and the band soldiers on, Lenker’s perseverant guitar solo howling with the weary relief of a shipwrecked sailor spotting land.
—Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 2 Sep. 2025
Noun
The recent spotting marks one of their few public appearances together.
—Charna Flam, PEOPLE, 9 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
Enjoy a Florida-style expedition at the 1,322-acre Micro Scrub Sanctuary, a natural scrubby flatwoods and mesic flatwoods habitat that includes miles of trails for hiking, biking, and wildlife spotting.
—Tara Massouleh McCay, Southern Living, 1 Sep. 2025
The Florian also is a great spot for plane spotting.
—Blane Bachelor, AFAR Media, 28 Aug. 2025
To accomplish this, Barton turned to the fundamental dance technique of spotting, where the dancer finds a focal point in front of them and whips their head around to hold that focus spot and keep themself centered.
—Oliver Sava, Vulture, 28 Aug. 2025
The spotting comes a week after Dominic McLaughlin, who is playing Harry Potter, was photographed on set.
—Carson Blackwelder, People.com, 25 Aug. 2025
Verb
Fire will mainly creep and smolder, and spotting potential will be reduced by higher relative humidity.
—Ca Wildfire Bot, Sacbee.com, 12 Sep. 2025
Colorado potato beetles on your potatoes, a defoliated tomato branch (likely due to tomato hornworms), or some spotting on your zinnias are all easily visible.
—Andy Wilcox, Better Homes & Gardens, 11 Sep. 2025
Balance Instinct With Investigation And Analysis Leaders (and all of us) can use intuition to guide our judgment and decisions, from reading the room to making quick calls and spotting new paths forward.
—Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 11 Sep. 2025
The centerpiece of its design is a cardinal, and living in the South, many of us have watched the trees for these beloved birds as an early sign of spring each year (especially for those in Virginia spotting their state bird).
—Caley Sturgill, Southern Living, 7 Sep. 2025
However, critics see it as rooting for the underdog running amok, spotting an academic Marxist concept used to limit a free society.
—John Scott Lewinski, The Washington Examiner, 5 Sep. 2025
More generally, the red carpet has awash with Armani this year, with Blanchett stepping out in a vintage black gown at the opening ceremony and one fashion site spotting no-less than 13 outfits from the luxury brand at the Frankenstein premiere.
—Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 4 Sep. 2025
The verse resumes, and the band soldiers on, Lenker’s perseverant guitar solo howling with the weary relief of a shipwrecked sailor spotting land.
—Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 2 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for spotting
Noun
-
Established in 1945 by advertising pioneer Albert Lasker and his wife, Mary, who was a staunch advocate for medical research, the awards highlight basic biological discoveries and advances that improve human health.—
Michael T. Nietzel,
Forbes.com,
14 Sep. 2025
-
This discovery not only changes our understanding of lunar geology but could also guide future missions to regions where the moon’s surface is still active.—
Rupendra Brahambhatt,
Interesting Engineering,
14 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Under the post that included romantic and silly shots of Neeson sprinkling some popcorn over her head, Joely left a string of red heart emojis in the comments section.—
Jen Juneau,
PEOPLE,
4 Sep. 2025
-
Then, to complete the deep clean, Lane suggests, sprinkling baking soda on the bottom of the dishwasher and running a second hot cycle with no detergent.—
Melissa Locker,
Southern Living,
2 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Leaders need to practice empathy by noticing when silence lingers in a meeting, when a camera remains off, or when fatigue from time zones takes its toll.—
Matthew C. Meade,
Forbes.com,
9 Sep. 2025
-
This was created after noticing that some new hires didn’t show up on their start date due to cold feet, second thoughts, or feeling another offer was safer.—
Roula Amire,
Fortune,
9 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Breaking Bad actor Raymond Cruz was arrested Monday on suspicion of misdemeanor battery after allegedly spraying someone with a hose while washing his car in front of his home in Los Angeles.—
Lauren Huff,
Entertainment Weekly,
9 Sep. 2025
-
Rather than spraying the formula directly onto her skin, our tester applied it to a cotton round instead.—
Esme Benjamin,
PEOPLE,
4 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
However, a law enforcement source later told The New York Times that the findings, from a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms report, had not been verified by the agency’s analysts and could have been misinterpreted.—
Zachary Folk,
Forbes.com,
12 Sep. 2025
-
The findings suggest that azelastine could be used as a preventive treatment against infection.—
Katia Hetter,
CNN Money,
12 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Jim Clash Today the beach is tranquil, with hotels and restaurants dotting the shoreline.—
Jim Clash,
Forbes.com,
8 Sep. 2025
-
The image is etched in black and white, except for the red blood dotting the protestor’s sign.—
Nicole Hoey,
Robb Report,
8 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Nepal’s current bout of political unrest started in early September, when a group of young Nepalis, fed up with seeing politicians’ children posting about their designer handbags and luxury travel while most people struggle to make ends meet, organized a peaceful protest.—
Sugam Pokharel,
CNN Money,
12 Sep. 2025
-
Most of all, the United States must create the capacity for advanced recycling that is seeing investments happen mostly overseas.—
Jasmin Malik Chua,
Sourcing Journal,
12 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Tools like sentiment analysis and toxicity detection models often exhibit biases toward people with disabilities, perpetuating harmful stereotypes embedded in training data as shown by research from Penn State.—
Cornelia C. Walther,
Forbes.com,
14 Sep. 2025
-
At the same time, major platforms have scaled back human moderation teams, relying more on AI detection systems.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
13 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Spotting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spotting. Accessed 15 Sep. 2025.
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