flyspeck

American  

[flahy-spek] / ˈflaɪˌspɛk /

noun

1. a speck or tiny stain from the excrement of a fly.

2. any minute spot.

3. Plant Pathology. a disease of pome fruits, characterized by small, raised, dark spots on the fruit, caused by a fungus, Leptothyrium pomi.

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verb (used with object)

1. to mark with flyspecks.

flyspeck British  

/ ˈflaɪˌspɛk /

noun

1. the small speck of the excrement of a fly

2. a small spot or speck

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verb

1. (tr) to mark with flyspecks

Etymology

Origin of flyspeck

First recorded in 1850–55; fly ¹ + speck

Example Sentences

The 17-year-old best friends are neighbors in a flyspeck California town in the Mojave Desert.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 23, 2026

But the press’s team used several printers to speed along reprints, and Krissoff says he’s proud that “a flyspeck university press in West Virginia can publish at the highest level.”

From Slate • May 17, 2021

The level of funding required would be a flyspeck in the military budget, not an endless boondoggle.

From Washington Times • Apr. 9, 2018

He plucked some old postcards from the rack to illustrate Adrian’s arc from robust railroad town to drive-by flyspeck.

From Washington Post • Sep. 8, 2016

But to me his ambitions seemed futile, and the whole of Long Island less important than a flyspeck on the map of the world.

From The Lightning Conductor Discovers America by Williamson, C. N. (Charles Norris)

Related Words

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