speck
Americannoun
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specks
plural
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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.
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a very little bit or particle.
We haven't a speck of sugar.
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something appearing small by comparison or by reason of distance.
By then the town was just a speck.
verb (used with object)
noun
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a very small mark or spot
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a small or tiny piece of something
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of speck
before 900; Middle English specke, Old English specca; cognate with Dutch spikkel
Explanation
A speck is a tiny patch or spot. At night, the stars look like glittering specks against the sky. And when you look up at the night sky, you might feel like a mere speck in the universe. A speck is a bit of color or light, or a very slight amount of something: "I'd like my eggs with lots of salt and just a speck of pepper." If you're extremely tidy, discovering specks of sand on your jeans after a walk on the beach might prompt you to change your clothes. Speck can be traced back to the Old English specca, "small spot or stain," but beyond that its origin remains a mystery.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
“If I get even a speck of dust on me outside, I have to come home and scrub my hands until they’re raw just to feel clean,” he said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026
A new image captured on June 13, 2026, shows the rover as a tiny green speck against the Martian landscape, just one day before it officially reached the distance milestone.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 14, 2026
As a character, Dalton’s only speck of depth comes from feeling ashamed about his temper, a rage that gets so hot it ruins his life.
From Salon ● May 27, 2026
The crescent Earth — our oasis holding everything we cherish, now just a speck in the infinite blackness — seemed to kiss the jagged lunar surface.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 9, 2026
I just smiled, because I knew they wouldn’t believe even a tiny speck of my story.
From "Rump: The (Fairly) True Story of Rumpelstilskin" by Liesl Shurtliff
Flash frames, scratches and specks of dust pop up randomly on the screen.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 19, 2026
Rendered with atomic specks of red, blue and green that produce a darker purplish cast, its resonant effect is reinforced in the painted border Seurat added later, as he did to many of his seascapes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 28, 2026
A bottle of Ice Age glacial water from the Czech mountains contains dazzling specks of 24‑carat gold.
From Barron's ● Jan. 29, 2026
In Sydney's historic Rocks precinct, a cobblestoned alleyway has been transformed into a winter wonderland for two weeks of Christmas in July markets, complete with fake snow machines churning specks of foam onto passersby.
From BBC ● Jul. 30, 2025
But even as he said this, he looked down and noticed the brown specks, and only just stopped himself crying out in alarm.
From "Never Let Me Go" by Kazuo Ishiguro
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
