dotted

American  

[dot-id] / ˈdɒt ɪd /

adjective

1. marked with a dot or dots.

2. consisting or constructed of dots.

3. having objects scattered or placed in a random manner.

   a landscape dotted with small houses.

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dotted British  

/ ˈdɒtɪd /

adjective

1. having dots, esp having a pattern of dots

2. music

   1. (of a note) increased to one and a half times its original time value See dot 1

   2. (of a musical rhythm) characterized by dotted notes Compare double-dotted See also notes inégales

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Other Word Forms

• undotted adjective

Etymology

Origin of dotted

First recorded in 1765–75; dot ¹ + -ed ³

Example Sentences

Tucked away in rural western Maryland, past a dead-end road cut off by railroad tracks, a stream runs cool and clear over a ledge dotted with snails.

From Slate • Apr. 27, 2026

Accompanying footage showed an aerial view of blackened earth dotted with trees.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 26, 2026

Back then, the surface of Mars was thought to have been dotted with huge lakes and rivers full of liquid water, a key ingredient for life as we know it.

From Barron's • Apr. 21, 2026

Despite dropping what would have been a first-half bonus-point try, Kildunne accelerated on an outside arc and confidently dotted down with one hand.

From BBC • Apr. 11, 2026

It was just an abandoned hunting shack, like hundreds of others that dotted the forests around here.

From "I Survived the Eruption of Mount St. Helens, 1980" by Lauren Tarshis