fleck

1 of 2

verb

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 sarcasmJames Atlas

fleck

2 of 2

noun

1
: spot, mark
a brown tweed with flecks of yellow
2
: flake, particle
flecks of snow drifted down

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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Verb
The country is flecked with teams who have late-blooming point guards or undersized small forwards who couldn’t play at Duke or Kansas but have grown into skilled college players. Christian Schneider, National Review, 27 Mar. 2025 Shilpa lovingly stroked cloth flecked with gold that clocked in at 380 euros a meter, and visualized the shawl that could be made from it. Gary Shteyngart, The Atlantic, 7 Feb. 2025
Noun
Made from 100 percent Donegal merino wool, the Finisterre Farne Women’s Crew Neck Knit Sweater comes in a choice of shades, all with subtle flecks of contrasting color. Jessica MacDonald, Travel + Leisure, 28 Mar. 2025 Normally, landing a star of Dončić’s caliber at such a young age would take every fleck of gold in the safe. C. Clark, M. Vorkunov and F. Katz, The Athletic, 17 Feb. 2025 See All Example Sentences for fleck

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

Time Traveler
The first known use of fleck was in the 14th century

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Fleck.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fleck. Accessed 13 Apr. 2025.

Kids Definition

fleck

1 of 2 verb

fleck

2 of 2 noun

More from Merriam-Webster on fleck

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