Definition of spot

in foreign exchange trading, on the spot delivery to meet immediate orders for purchase or sale of a currency at current market prices, normally in two business days. The rate quoted is the spot rate. For example, a dealer may agree on Tuesday to sell U.S. dollars and buy Japanese yen for current delivery. The contract is completed on Thursday, when funds are exchanged and delivery takes place. The majority of foreign exchange current delivery contracts are settled with two-day delivery. An exception is the Canadian dollar and Mexican peso contracts traded in North American markets, where the delivery date is one business day forward; Tuesday orders are filled on Wednesday.

1. broadcast time slot set aside to be filled by either a commercial advertisement or a public service message; also called occasion.
2. in a technical production sense, casual name for a spotlight.
3. commercial time on local television stations, as distinguished from commercial time on a network. Within this context there are two types of spot purchases that can be made: (1) local spot-handled by an individual television station, with time bought in one market only, for the benefit of the audience in that particular market; (2) national spot-handled by a local television sales representative, with time bought by a national advertiser on an individual basis in more than one market.