speckle

American  

[spek-uhl] / ˈspɛk əl /

noun

1. a small speck, spot, or mark, as on skin.

2. speckled coloring or marking.

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verb (used with object)

speckled, speckling

1. to mark with or as with speckles.

speckle British  

/ ˈspɛkəl /

noun

1. a small or slight mark usually of a contrasting colour, as on the skin, a bird's plumage, or eggs

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verb

1. (tr) to mark with or as if with speckles

Other Word Forms

• speckled adjective
• speckledness noun
• unspeckled adjective

Etymology

Origin of speckle

late Middle English word dating back to 1400–50; speck, -le

Example Sentences

One of Mr. Joseph’s interviewees remembers Sondheim pinning an oatmeal-raisin cookie to a speckled piece of pine paneling.

From The Wall Street Journal

The towns speckling the Columbia River basin have long ridden the ebbs and flows of far-off markets: volatile crop prices, changes in the livestock trade, pressure on the lumber industry.

From The Wall Street Journal

Diversified operates just a fraction of the wells speckling Appalachia, home to two of America’s most prolific shale formations.

From The Wall Street Journal

In his larger home – with patios and several rooms – a group of speckled hens fights for rooftop space between the solar panels.

From BBC

One of them kept her eyes glued to Palacios as she reached sneakily for the cat’s speckled fur.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• mottle