blotch

1 of 2

verb

blotched; blotching; blotches

transitive verb

: to mark or mar with blotches

blotch

2 of 2

noun

1
2
: a spot or mark (as of color or ink) especially when large or irregular
blotchily adverb
blotchy adjective

Examples of blotch in a Sentence

Verb blotched the bedroom walls with various shades of blue to give them a textured effect my pen leaked and blotched my shirt pocket Noun blotches on the tree's leaves a dog with a single small blotch of black
Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
Still, in the contents of this collection, some blotched with stray fingerprints or grease splatters, O’Keeffe left traces of her daily effort to maintain Abiquiu as a sanctuary. Amelia Nierenberg, New York Times, 7 Feb. 2020 The friend spotted a big male Chinook — its fins torn, its back blotched with the fungus of decay. Special To The Oregonian, OregonLive.com, 5 May 2018 Inside the box there's a pile of mint-green paint chips, blotched with brown stains and cracked like a dehydrated lake bed. Maya Dukmasova, Chicago Reader, 24 Oct. 2017 As Ghosh writes, back in 1635, in a village nearby Slovakia’s Strazov Mountains, lawyer Jan Ladislaides marked his stamp of approval on municipal account documents with a small blotched drawing of two dots and a line inside a circle. Lauren Young, Smithsonian, 6 Feb. 2017 People emerged from the pools, their pale white skin blotched with red. James Hamblin, The Atlantic, 9 June 2017 As Ghosh writes, back in 1635, in a village nearby Slovakia’s Strazov Mountains, lawyer Jan Ladislaides marked his stamp of approval on municipal account documents with a small blotched drawing of two dots and a line inside a circle. Lauren Young, Smithsonian, 6 Feb. 2017
Noun
Leaf blotch and leaf spots can also happen when temperatures are high or leaves are overwatered. Southern Living Editors, Southern Living, 22 Aug. 2023 Beckham, the team’s co-owner and president, had huge dark blotches on his blue blazer because of the rain. Tim Reynolds, Chicago Tribune, 16 July 2023 As its name suggests, the species’ skin is bright blue and covered in a smattering of black blotches that are unique to the individual. Sam Walters, Discover Magazine, 30 May 2023 The steel hood over the fireplace is stained with blotches of plaster and red paint to create an abstract artwork. Justin Davidson, Curbed, 20 Apr. 2023 Sooty blotch looks like a brown or black blotch on the fruit; sooty blotch, unlike flyspeck, will wipe off the fruit. Megan Hughes, Better Homes & Gardens, 2 June 2022 Another fascinating trait of the species is their distinct and irregular star-like blotches extending to their hooves. Angel Saunders, Peoplemag, 24 July 2023 Covington police found blotches of blood throughout the apartment as well as outside on the balcony, according to trial testimony. Quinlan Bentley, The Enquirer, 23 July 2023 Tech leaders immediately predicted that medical fields such as radiology and dermatology, which require doctors to learn subtle differences in X-ray images and blotches on their patients’ skin, would be totally disrupted by AI. Gerrit De Vynck, Washington Post, 8 June 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'blotch.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun

perhaps blend of blot entry 1 and botch entry 3

First Known Use

Verb

1604, in the meaning defined above

Noun

1619, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of blotch was in 1604

Dictionary Entries Near blotch

Cite this Entry

“Blotch.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/blotch. Accessed 28 Sep. 2023.

Kids Definition

blotch

noun
ˈbläch
1
2
: a large irregular spot (as of color or ink)
blotch verb
blotched
ˈblächt
adjective
blotchy
ˈbläch-ē
adjective

Medical Definition

blotch

noun
: a discolored patch on the skin
the face and neck were covered with large reddish blotches
blotch transitive verb
blotchy adjective

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