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:
Hilton has been campaigning hard, as though he has more than the merest speck of a chance of pulling an epic upset and somehow prevailing.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 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
“New York State created a Law, for an instant speck of time, going back many decades, in order to wrongfully ‘nab’ me,” he wrote.
From Salon ● Jun. 29, 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
It’s just a speck, so I still consider it a win.
From "Popcorn" by Rob Harrell
People reported specks of black oil rained down on the streets after the attack, which also saw columns of thick smoke going into the sky.
From BBC ● Jun. 24, 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
The production invoked the historical paintings of Hildegard’s visions as well as modern interpretations of them, using videos in which swirling specks of colored light coalesced into figures.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 12, 2026
We were just specks in the ocean, as tiny as a velella or an anchovy, part of a big, watery world.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2025
Mr. Derby sat next to the driver, continually checking his fingernails and picking specks of dirt off his boots.
From "Copper Sun" by Sharon M. Draper
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.
