speckle

1 of 2

noun

speck·​le ˈspe-kəl 

: a little speck (as of color)

speckle

2 of 2

verb

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

Examples of speckle in a Sentence

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

Noun

The optical engine is sealed against dust ingress to keep the speckles from spoiling movie nights. —Paul Ridden, New Atlas, 14 Mar. 2025

As with any triple-laser, single-chip DLP projector, laser speckle and rainbow artifacts (red/green/blue flashes) are potential issues. —PCMAG, 12 Mar. 2025

Verb

Notably, the explosion that occurred Thursday happened less than midway through Starship’s flight path over an area that is speckled with populated islands. —Jackie Wattles, CNN, 17 Jan. 2025

Both of her silver sequin gowns included low necklines, but differed in shine level as one of the dresses was speckled with smaller sequins like a chainmail dress while the other featured larger embellishments, giving it more of a mirrorball appearance. —Michelle Lee, People.com, 6 Jan. 2025

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

• speckle interferometry

Rhymes for speckle

• decal
• freckle
• meckel
• shekel
• thecal

Kids Definition

speckle

1 of 2 noun

speck·​le ˈspek-əl 

: a small mark (as of color)

speckle

2 of 2 verb

speckled; speckling ˈspek-(ə-)liŋ 

: to mark with speckles