in the spotlight
45
3.7
- idiom
:
en el centro de atención
- The state-controlled press has kept Gamal and his projects in the spotlight.
- put in the spotlight
- get in the spotlight
I usually don't mind it because I don't like being in the spotlight anyway.
- I usually don't mind it because I don't like being in the spotlight anyway.
- I mean, you're in the spotlight a lot of the time.
- Being young in a sport that's so, so much in the spotlight.
- What happened when when Bugsy got killed, that's when Vegas became in the spotlight.
- I think that I have built up a very, very tough skin being somewhat in the spotlight since I was very young.
- You're sharing the awards you've won, you're posting a lot of selfies, you're in the spotlight.
- There are more people in the spotlight and there are more people criticizing people in the spotlight.
- I have no doubt that there are many telescopes waiting in the wings to have their turn in the spotlight.
- And, you know, I learned all that from a song that, you know, a song that potentially got me, you know, in the spotlight.
- And, and they need to be equipped, you know, to handle a lot of pressure that comes from being in the spotlight.
- But I, I believe the Buddhists have got a special prayer for people in the spotlight who are famous, You know, they, they know that it's a, a difficult thing.
- Run by the nation's preeminent candle reviewer, Kent, the new snowed in candle got its time in the spotlight.
Examples
-
A trial like this is going to put Cardenas in the spotlight.
Fiction book (1993) -
The guy has a long history of wanting to be in the spotlight and loving it.
Blog text (14) -
Like I love the fact that I ended up, you know, in the spotlight and now my story reached more and more people.
-
This is your first time in the spotlight.
-
On Friday, one student gets to be in the spotlight.
Academic text (2012) -
Playing directly to the camera, he clearly loves being in the spotlight.
Fiction book (1996) -
However, the student in the spotlight is not truly the one being assessed.
Academic text (2012) -
I'm not sure I'm comfortable in the spotlight.
-
Well, she's back in the spotlight, but not for the reasons that she would hope.
-
After years of hard work, she finally found herself in the spotlight during the award ceremony.
Synonyms
130
3.6
A job or position that gets a lot of public attention
36
3.7
Seen and talked about by many people
12
5.5
Getting a lot of public attention
Gets public attention, often in the news
Antonyms
How Visible
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'receiving public attention' is directly derivable from combining 'in' (inside) with 'spotlight' (intense public attention); the physical image of being literally in a spotlight maps transparently onto the figurative meaning. This is a common and regular metaphorical extension found across languages, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents will readily infer the MWE's meaning.
Etymology
The idiom in the spotlight comes from the stage, where a bright spotlight shines on one person and makes them stand out from the dark. So, to be in the spotlight means to get public 'attention' or to be the main focus.