sunspot

noun

sun·​spot ˈsən-ˌspät 

: any of the dark spots that appear at times on the sun's surface and are usually visible only through a telescope

Examples of sunspot in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Beginning in the 1980s, solar activity started decreasing overall, with each subsequent 11-year sunspot cycle seeing fewer sunspots, fewer flares and fewer coronal mass ejections. —Keith Cooper, Space.com, 17 Sep. 2025

Singing onstage at New York’s Beacon Theatre or puttering around her house in Brittany, Birkin appears shorter and stouter, with thin lips and sunspots. —Anahid Nersessian, New Yorker, 15 Sep. 2025

But if sunspot numbers and TSI fall, GHG effects will be larger than that measured by earth temperature rise. —Ian Dexter Palmer, Forbes.com, 10 Sep. 2025

The Farmers’ Almanac uses a proprietary astronomical and mathematical formula that dates back to 1818, which looks at things like planet positions, the moon location, as well as sunspot activity for the basis of its long-range outlooks. —Kansas City Star, 16 Aug. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1676, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for sunspot

• allot
• barat
• begot
• besought
• bethought
• bloodshot
• boycott
• buckshot
• crackpot
• croat
• culottes
• dashpot

Kids Definition

sunspot

noun

sun·​spot -ˌspät 

: one of the dark spots that appear from time to time on the sun's surface and are usually visible only through a telescope