spec
[ spek ]
/ spɛk /
noun
Usually specs. specification(def 2).
adjective
built, done, bought, etc., as a speculation: the construction of spec houses.
verb (used with object), spec'd or specked or specced, spec'·ing or speck·ing or spec·cing.
to provide specifications for: Their newest truck was spec'd by a computer.
QUIZZES
TAKE THIS QUIZ TO SEE WHAT YOU KNOW ABOUT 2ND-3RD GRADE VOCAB FROM BOOKS!
Are you learning new vocabulary? Or do you just have an interest in words? Either way, this quiz is for you.
Question 1 of 10
orchard
Idioms for spec
on spec, made, built, or done with hopes of but no assurance of payment or a sale; without commitment by a client or buyer: ad illustrations done on spec; luxury homes built on spec and sold before completion.
Origin of spec
An Americanism dating back to 1785–95; by shortening
OTHER WORDS FROM spec
spec·’er, speck·er, nounWords nearby spec
Definition for specking (2 of 2)
speck
[ spek ]
/ spɛk /
noun
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.
a very little bit or particle: We haven't a speck of sugar.
something appearing small by comparison or by reason of distance: By then the town was just a speck.
verb (used with object)
to mark with, or as with, a speck or specks.
Origin of speck
before 900; Middle English specke, Old English specca; cognate with Dutch spikkel
OTHER WORDS FROM speck
speck·ed·ness [spek-id-nis] /ˈspɛk ɪd nɪs/, nounspeck·less, adjectivespeck·less·ly, adverbspeck·less·ness, nounDictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020
Example sentences from the Web for specking
We have twenty-one of them up, specking the sky as clearly as a bacteriologist's slide is specked with microbes.
Letters from France|C. E. W. Bean
British Dictionary definitions for specking (1 of 2)
spec
/ (spɛk) informal /
noun
on spec as a speculation or gambleall the tickets were sold so I went to the theatre on spec
adjective
(prenominal) Australian and NZ speculativea spec developer
Word Origin for spec
C19: short for speculation or speculative
British Dictionary definitions for specking (2 of 2)
speck
/ (spɛk) /
noun
a very small mark or spot
a small or tiny piece of something
verb
(tr) to mark with specks or spots
Word Origin for speck
Old English specca; related to Middle Dutch spekelen to sprinkle
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Idioms and Phrases with specking
spec
see on spec.
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.