fleck

1 of 2

verb

ˈflek 

flecked; flecking; flecks

transitive verb

1

: streak, spot

whitecaps flecked the blue sea

2

: to color as if by sprinkling with flecks

his wit is flecked with sarcasm

—James Atlas

fleck

2 of 2

noun

1

: spot, mark

a brown tweed with flecks of yellow

2

: flake, particle

flecks of snow drifted down

Synonyms

Verb

• blotch
• dapple
• dot
• freckle
• marble
• mottle
• pepper
• shoot
• speck
• speckle
• splotch
• spot
• sprinkle
• stipple

Noun

• blotch
• dapple
• dot
• eyespot
• mottle
• patch
• pip
• point
• speck
• speckle
• splotch
• spot

Examples of fleck in a Sentence

Verb

She flecked the canvas with blue paint.

to achieve the desired effect, fleck the canvas with paint simply by flicking the brush close to the surface

Noun

a brown cloth with flecks of yellow

The police found flecks of blood on his clothes.

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

Fields are flecked with yellow goldenrod; branches offer pomegranates like the arms of expert jugglers. —Stephanie Rafanelli, Condé Nast Traveler, 1 Mar. 2023

For the half portion, a quarter chicken dons a film of crispy chicken skin flecked with sea salt and tender meat underneath. —Lyndsay C. Green, Detroit Free Press, 19 July 2024

Noun

As if the sun had decided freckles were simply too mundane for someone like him, his skin seemed to be effused with golden flecks. —Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 14 Aug. 2024

There’s vegan custard in cups and creamy custard sandwiched between macarons with flecks of maize and blue. —Susan Selasky, Detroit Free Press, 13 Aug. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Verb

back-formation from flecked spotted, from Middle English; akin to Old High German flec spot, Old Norse flekkr

First Known Use

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

1598, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

fleck

1 of 2 verb

ˈflek 

: streak entry 2 sense 1, spot

fleck

2 of 2 noun

1

: spot entry 1 sense 2a, mark

2

: flake entry 1, particle