speckle

American  

[spek-uhl] / ˈspɛk əl /

noun

1. a small speck, spot, or mark, as on skin.

2. speckled coloring or marking.

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verb (used with object)

speckled, speckling

1. to mark with or as with speckles.

speckle British  

/ ˈspɛkəl /

noun

1. a small or slight mark usually of a contrasting colour, as on the skin, a bird's plumage, or eggs

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verb

1. (tr) to mark with or as if with speckles

Other Word Forms

• speckled adjective
• speckledness noun
• unspeckled adjective

Etymology

Origin of speckle

late Middle English word dating back to 1400–50; speck, -le

Example Sentences

As time passes, the speckle shifts, which allows different parts of the cells to become visible.

From Science Daily • Apr. 10, 2024

But instead of seeking to speckle them with familiar, Earthly worlds, we can give in to the alienation and embrace the loneliness, let it transmute into a new kind of awe.

From Slate • Jul. 13, 2022

As cancellations increasingly speckle a busy fall concert calendar, the team behind Day In Day Out, Seattle’s first major music festival since the pandemic, was dealt a last-minute blow.

From Seattle Times • Sep. 2, 2021

It is restless and searching, continually morphing in shape, an abstract paintbrush swoosh one moment, a speckle of raindrops the next.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 9, 2020

“Please remove this woman,” said another senator, a man with broad, bullish shoulders and a speckle of sweat on his pale skin.

From "Impossible Creatures" by Katherine Rundell

Related Words

• mottle