fleck
Americannoun
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a speck; a small bit.
a fleck of dirt.
-
a spot or small patch of color, light, etc..
the dapple mare with flecks of gray.
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a spot or mark on the skin, as a freckle.
verb (used with object)
noun
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a small marking or streak; speckle
-
a small particle; speck
a fleck of dust
verb
Other Word Forms
- fleckless adjective
- flecklessly adverb
- flecky adjective
- unflecked adjective
Etymology
Origin of fleck
1350–1400; Middle English flekked spotted; akin to Old Norse flekkr spot, streak, Old High German flec ( German Fleck ), Middle Low German, Middle Dutch vlecken to soil
Explanation
A fleck is a small patch that is different and stands out from the background, like the flecks of green in your blue eyes. A fleck can also be a fragment of something, like the flecks of peeling paint you might see on the floor in an old building. The noun fleck can describe a color or a spot of light that stands out, like a fleck of orange in a brown and white plaid, or the little bits of light reflected off a sequined top. It can also describe a particle, such as a fleck of dirt you track into your house on your shoe. Fleck can also be a verb that means dotting or marking something with little spots, like when you fleck paint on the wall to produce a random dotted effect.
Vocabulary lists containing fleck
The House on Mango Street
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Number the Stars
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Beowulf vocabulary
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
A nanoparticle is a fleck of material ranging in size approximately between 1 and 100 nanometers.
From Science Daily • Apr. 30, 2024
When they dialed the pressure back up to as little as 0.3 gigapascals, the blue fleck turned pink as the electrical resistance plunged to zero.
From Science Magazine • Mar. 8, 2023
It’s an economy that makes me feel like the zillionth scampering fleck in some global ant farm.
From New York Times • Feb. 17, 2022
Stanford Coach: David Shaw Comment: Shaw isn’t getting fired, but we are leaving room — a fleck of a wisp of a chance — that he leaves for the NFL.
From Seattle Times • Dec. 7, 2021
There was a fleck of manticore blood on her cheek.
From "Impossible Creatures" by Katherine Rundell
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
