speck
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.
a very little bit or particle: We haven't a speck of sugar.
something appearing small by comparison or by reason of distance: By then the town was just a speck.
to mark with, or as with, a speck or specks.
Origin of speck
1Other words from speck
- speck·ed·ness [spek-id-nis], /ˈspɛk ɪd nɪs/, noun
- speckless, adjective
- speck·less·ly, adverb
- speck·less·ness, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use speck in a sentence
I was aware that the room was speckless; but for all that, Leeby was turning it upside down.
A Window in Thrums | J. M. BarrieNowhere was there a cloud—a speckless day in the middle of a week that had threatened to keep the sky besmirched.
An Arkansas Planter | Opie Percival ReadThe kitchen is now speckless, not an unwashed platter in sight, unless you look beneath the table.
Margaret Ogilvy | J. M. Barrie"I manage this flat entirely without help, you know," said Marie, looking round the speckless dining-room proudly.
Married Life | May EdgintonPresently Miss Row looked around at her, and her sharp eyes fell immediately on the litter on her usually speckless carpet.
The Carroll Girls | Mabel Quiller-Couch
British Dictionary definitions for speck
/ (spɛk) /
a very small mark or spot
a small or tiny piece of something
(tr) to mark with specks or spots
Origin of speck
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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