spotting

1. gerundparticiplepresentpresent participle and gerund of spot

plural spottings

1. A spotted pattern.

   Symptoms consist of various foliage spottings and blotchings.

   1954, Thomas H. Everett, The American Gardener's Book of Bulbs, page 161

2. The act of spotting or sighting something.

   Although the NVA went to great lengths to conceal the locations of their artillery, they had to expose them at the time of firing. Less reliable than visual spottings were electronic intercepts […]

   2009, “Close Air Support and the Battle for Khe Sanh”, in Marine Corps, US, page 100

3. Vaginal spotting, the discharge of blood from the vagina at a time outside of one's usual menses.

   Subchorionic bleeding […] can cause light to heavy spotting but doesn't always (sometimes it is only detected during a routine ultrasound).

   2008, Heidi Murkoff, Sharon Mazel, What to Expect When You're Expecting: 4th Edition, page 138