speck

[ spek ]

noun

1. a small spot differing in color or substance from that of the surface or material upon which it appears or lies:

   Specks of soot on the window sill.

2. a very little bit or particle:

   We haven't a speck of sugar.

3. something appearing small by comparison or by reason of distance:

   By then the town was just a speck.

verb (used with object)

1. to mark with, or as with, a speck or specks.

speck

/ spɛk /

noun

1. a very small mark or spot
2. a small or tiny piece of something

verb

1. tr to mark with specks or spots

Other Words From

• speck·ed·ness [spek, -id-nis], noun
• speckless adjective
• speckless·ly adverb
• speckless·ness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of speck¹

before 900; Middle English specke, Old English specca; cognate with Dutch spikkel

Word History and Origins

Origin of speck¹

Old English specca; related to Middle Dutch spekelen to sprinkle

Example Sentences

With antitrust in vogue on a global scale, and in the face of a recharged, newly aggressive regulatory apparatus under the current Democratic president, Joe Biden, you don’t want to find yourself in a position where you can lose even a speck of the sheer power and autonomy you’ve garnered for yourself over the years.

From Slate

April spent most of her childhood in Kellyville, Oklahoma, a town of about 1,000 people just off historic Route 66, a town April describes as “a speck on the map.”

From Slate

To this day, not a speck of evidence has been produced to validate this claim; scientists versed in the relevant disciplines of virology and epidemiology say the evidence overwhelmingly supports the hypothesis that the virus reached humans via the wildlife trade, and that its journey may well have started with bats thousands of miles from Wuhan, China.

From Los Angeles Times

“Whenever I am asked to help resuscitate a city or town center, before doing anything else, I run in a panic to Google Maps to see which, if any, of the downtown streets are state property,” the planner Jeff Speck wrote in his 2012 book Walkable City.

From Slate

From the overlook, I watched the early morning light over the canyon, feeling like a little speck of stardust in our vast universe.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

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