speckle
1 of 2noun
speck·le ˈspe-kəl 
: a little speck (as of color)
speckle
2 of 2verb
speckled; speckling ˈspe-k(ə-)liŋ
transitive verb
1
: to mark with speckles
2
: to be distributed in or on like speckles
Synonyms
Noun
- blotch
- dapple
- dot
- eyespot
- fleck
- mottle
- patch
- pip
- point
- speck
- splotch
- spot
Verb
- blotch
- dapple
- dot
- fleck
- freckle
- marble
- mottle
- pepper
- shoot
- speck
- splotch
- spot
- sprinkle
- stipple
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
Noun a ripe banana with lots of brown speckles the cat has a speckle of orange right at her whiskers Verb speckled the cookies with colored sugar
Recent Examples on the Web
Dana Hunsinger Benbow, Indianapolis Star, 24 Apr. 2020 Sando’s larger-than-life photographs of the beans luxuriate in their every curve, speckle and wrinkle, much like the high-definition photos of wheaten loops and marshmallows on cereal boxes. Soleil Ho, SFChronicle.com, 17 Apr. 2020 Males can have orange and red speckles on their front legs and bright green or yellow heads. Cathy M. Rosenthal, ExpressNews.com, 28 Feb. 2020 Durat Available in over 300 colors including speckle options, Durat is a solid material that contains recycled post-industrial plastics. Sally Kuchar, Sunset Magazine, 3 Feb. 2020 One records the white speckle of aphid eggs on a patch of leaves. Leah Ollman, Los Angeles Times, 1 Oct. 2019 Mites, of course, will be quite small and are often hard to see with the naked eye, but speckles left from their feeding can give the plant a bronzed or yellow look. oregonlive, 11 Nov. 2019 Grown in small quantities in the Pacific Northwest, Forelle tells you it’s ripe when the skin under its red speckles turns from green to yellow. Robin Mather, chicagotribune.com, 23 Oct. 2019 According to Shape, Lopez owns these Beyond Yoga leggings in three different shades, including black gunmetal, sandstone gold speckle, and blush rose gold. Braelyn Wood, Health.com, 16 Oct. 2019 Liliana Webb And Layla Mcmurtrie, Detroit Free Press, 20 Aug. 2022 More tents speckle a grassy area designated for women only, and spill back toward the woods. Zachariah Hughes, Anchorage Daily News, 7 July 2022 Native oaks, evergreens, yew woods, and shrubs speckle in this UNESCO Biosphere Reserve — and the flora works in tandem for a mind-blowing sea of green. Stephanie Vermillion, Travel + Leisure, 14 Dec. 2021 Hot spots continue to speckle the U.S. map, many of them in line with low vaccination rates, but others in areas where vaccinations are among the highest. Compiled Democrat-gazette Staff From Wire Reports, Arkansas Online, 21 Sep. 2021 Trickling water, guitar strings strummed ever so slightly, and what sounds like a buzzing insect or two speckle the prolific Blur and Gorillaz frontman's piecemeal musings on the natural world. Jason Lamphier, EW.com, 3 Sep. 2021 In Burkina Faso, for instance, farmers speckle still-empty fields with shallow pits known as zai that trap rain and can soak future roots. Jessica Leigh Hester, Wired, 21 Aug. 2021 Hundreds of firefighters raced across miles and miles of forest land, often outnumbering the populations of the small towns that speckle southern Oregon. New York Times, 22 July 2021 Reuters Towering wind turbines already speckle seas across Europe and Asia and a boom in construction is expected to bring an economic bonanza to the US East Coast. Clarisa Diaz, Quartz, 28 June 2021 See More
Noun
The brief summary of her life, written by daughters Barb Harvey and Mary Knotts, is just a tiny speckle of who Harvey was. Dana Hunsinger Benbow, Indianapolis Star, 24 Apr. 2020 Sando’s larger-than-life photographs of the beans luxuriate in their every curve, speckle and wrinkle, much like the high-definition photos of wheaten loops and marshmallows on cereal boxes. Soleil Ho, SFChronicle.com, 17 Apr. 2020 Males can have orange and red speckles on their front legs and bright green or yellow heads. Cathy M. Rosenthal, ExpressNews.com, 28 Feb. 2020 Durat Available in over 300 colors including speckle options, Durat is a solid material that contains recycled post-industrial plastics. Sally Kuchar, Sunset Magazine, 3 Feb. 2020 One records the white speckle of aphid eggs on a patch of leaves. Leah Ollman, Los Angeles Times, 1 Oct. 2019 Mites, of course, will be quite small and are often hard to see with the naked eye, but speckles left from their feeding can give the plant a bronzed or yellow look. oregonlive, 11 Nov. 2019 Grown in small quantities in the Pacific Northwest, Forelle tells you it’s ripe when the skin under its red speckles turns from green to yellow. Robin Mather, chicagotribune.com, 23 Oct. 2019 According to Shape, Lopez owns these Beyond Yoga leggings in three different shades, including black gunmetal, sandstone gold speckle, and blush rose gold. Braelyn Wood, Health.com, 16 Oct. 2019 Verb
Belle Isle, island jewel of Detroit, is bursting with life as new attractions speckle the park. Liliana Webb And Layla Mcmurtrie, Detroit Free Press, 20 Aug. 2022 More tents speckle a grassy area designated for women only, and spill back toward the woods. Zachariah Hughes, Anchorage Daily News, 7 July 2022 Native oaks, evergreens, yew woods, and shrubs speckle in this UNESCO Biosphere Reserve — and the flora works in tandem for a mind-blowing sea of green. Stephanie Vermillion, Travel + Leisure, 14 Dec. 2021 Hot spots continue to speckle the U.S. map, many of them in line with low vaccination rates, but others in areas where vaccinations are among the highest. Compiled Democrat-gazette Staff From Wire Reports, Arkansas Online, 21 Sep. 2021 Trickling water, guitar strings strummed ever so slightly, and what sounds like a buzzing insect or two speckle the prolific Blur and Gorillaz frontman's piecemeal musings on the natural world. Jason Lamphier, EW.com, 3 Sep. 2021 In Burkina Faso, for instance, farmers speckle still-empty fields with shallow pits known as zai that trap rain and can soak future roots. Jessica Leigh Hester, Wired, 21 Aug. 2021 Hundreds of firefighters raced across miles and miles of forest land, often outnumbering the populations of the small towns that speckle southern Oregon. New York Times, 22 July 2021 Reuters Towering wind turbines already speckle seas across Europe and Asia and a boom in construction is expected to bring an economic bonanza to the US East Coast. Clarisa Diaz, Quartz, 28 June 2021 See More Word History
Etymology
Noun
Middle English; akin to Old English specca
First Known Use
Noun
15th century, in the meaning defined above
Verb
15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Phrases Containing speckle
Kids Definition
speckle 1 of 2
noun
speck·le ˈspe-kəl
: a small mark (as of color)
speckle
2 of 2verb
speckled; speckling
: to mark or be marked with small spots
speckles 1 of 2
noun
as in flecks
a small area that is different (as in color) from the main part the cat has a speckle of orange right at her whiskers Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- flecks
- specks
- blotches
- dots
- patches
- splotches
- stains
- mottles
- spots
- smudges
- dapples
- pips
- eyespots
- smears
- freckles
- blobs
- splashes
- blots
- moles
- spatters
- birthmarks
- points
- marks
- polka dots
- smutches
speckles
2 of 2verb
as in sprinkles
to mark with small spots especially unevenly speckled the cookies with colored sugar Synonyms & Similar Words
- sprinkles
- dots
- flecks
- specks
- stains
- blotches
- splotches
- spots
- mottles
- freckles
- dyes
- peppers
- marbles
- stripes
- stipples
- dapples
- streaks
- blots
- shoots
- bands
- bars
- studs
- spatters
- sets
- intersperses
- bespatters