pockmark

American  

[pok-mahrk] / ˈpɒkˌmɑrk /

noun

1. Usually pockmarks. scars or pits left by a pustule in smallpox or the like.

2. a small pit or scar.

   a tabletop full of pockmarks.

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verb (used with object)

1. to mark or scar with or as with pockmarks.

   gopher holes pockmarking the field.

pockmark British  

/ ˈpɒkˌmɑːk /

noun

1. Also called: pock.  a pitted scar left on the skin after the healing of a smallpox or similar pustule

2. any pitting of a surface that resembles or suggests such scars

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verb

1. (tr) to scar or pit (a surface) with pockmarks

Other Word Forms

• pockmarked adjective

Etymology

Origin of pockmark

First recorded in 1665–75; pock + mark ¹

Example Sentences

Shin said that learning to negotiate pockmarked pavement is part of every Angeleno’s driving education.

From Los Angeles Times

Many found a city with barely functioning services, their homes destroyed and neighbourhoods pockmarked by makeshift cemeteries authorities are now exhuming.

From Barron's

Decades of decline have pockmarked the city, including some now-famous failings.

From The Wall Street Journal

One piece depicts the moon, its surface pockmarked by craters.

From Los Angeles Times

America is pockmarked by millions of oil and gas wells that petered out over decades.

From The Wall Street Journal