flyspeck

American  

[flahy-spek] / ˈflaɪˌspɛk /

noun

1. a speck or tiny stain from the excrement of a fly.

2. any minute spot.

3. Plant Pathology. a disease of pome fruits, characterized by small, raised, dark spots on the fruit, caused by a fungus, Leptothyrium pomi.

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verb (used with object)

1. to mark with flyspecks.

flyspeck British  

/ ˈflaɪˌspɛk /

noun

1. the small speck of the excrement of a fly

2. a small spot or speck

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verb

1. (tr) to mark with flyspecks

Etymology

Origin of flyspeck

First recorded in 1850–55; fly ¹ + speck

Example Sentences

The 17-year-old best friends are neighbors in a flyspeck California town in the Mojave Desert.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 23, 2026

But the press’s team used several printers to speed along reprints, and Krissoff says he’s proud that “a flyspeck university press in West Virginia can publish at the highest level.”

From Slate • May 17, 2021

This was Grandview Speedway, a rudimentary third-of-a-mile high-banked dirt track nestled in the flyspeck town of Bechtelsville, Pa., amid rolling farmland 50 miles northwest of Philadelphia.

From New York Times • Oct. 23, 2019

The level of funding required would be a flyspeck in the military budget, not an endless boondoggle.

From Washington Times • Apr. 9, 2018

Tom looked up and saw a tiny flyspeck roaring straight down at the ship.

From On the Trail of the Space Pirates by Glanzman, Louis

Related Words

• blot
• dot
• fleck
• iota
• mite
• particle
• shred
• splotch
• stain