spot-on

American

[spot-on, awn] / ˈspɒtˈɒn, ˈɔn /

Or spot on

adjective

exactly right or accurate.

His spot-on impression of the popular politician had us all laughing.
Thanks go to our colleague, whose analysis of the situation was spot on.

spot-on British

adjective

informal absolutely correct; very accurate

your prediction was spot-on

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of spot-on

First recorded in 1935–40

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

“I’ve been unable to guess it. So curious. I’m usually spot-on.”

From Literature

Telenovela parodies are usually awful, but this one is spot-on and full of brilliant moments from McCarthy’s pronunciation of “Matemática” to the appearance of telenovela legend Itatí Cantoral, known worldwide for her villainous character Soraya Montenegro.

From Los Angeles Times

Because of that, it became imperative that your judgement of your players was spot-on, in respect of their valuation.

From BBC

“I can tell you when Food Network started losing the plot, baby,” said Tori Paschal, a digital creator who posted this spot-on, hilarious observation in a TikTok video.

From Salon

In creating these attractions, rather than being spot-on re-creations of the past, parks tend to rely on people’s preconceived notions regarding periods in American history, or what cultural anthropologist and theme-park researcher Scott A. Lukas calls culture sampling.

From The Wall Street Journal

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023