spotlit

adjectiveC1Very rare — outside the 30,000 commonest English words, so you will meet it in writing rather than in speechToo rare in one of the two pools to compare — fewer than 20 uses in speech or in writing

Spotlit means lit by one strong beam picking it out. A spotlit stage, the spotlit painting, stand spotlit.

The rest going dark is the whole effect, and theatre uses it to tell an audience where to look. Museums light a single object this way for the same reason, and the heat and light are limited because both damage what is on show.

Definitions of spotlit

1adjectivespotlitLit by one strong beam picking it out.C1
“The singer stood alone on the spotlit stage while the rest of the hall was dark.”

spotlit is a quality of lighting.

Where it comes from

spotlight comes from spot + light. From spot + light.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practised in Light & Shadow, Shapes & Lines

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