divot

noun

div·​ot ˈdi-vət 

plural divots

1

Scotland : a square of turf or sod

2

: a loose piece of turf (such as one dug from a golf fairway in making a shot)

The caddies, I was solemnly assured, never replace a divot; they just sprinkle grass seed from a pouch they carry. Well, this is a myth, for I repeatedly saw caddies replace divots in the course of the tournament, with the care of tile-setters.

—John Updike

3

: a small dent : a small depression or hollow

… soft pastries of yeasted dough with a divot in the center, traditionally filled with sweetened cheese or fruit …

—John T. Edge

Examples of divot in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Make sure to create divots for the pools of brown butter that sit atop the dish, which make each spoonful feel extra luxe. —CBS News, 21 Nov. 2025

Even the bottle, retailing for $75, mirrors that intention: a sculptural shape with no beginning or end, carved with a small tactile divot meant to rest between your fingers, reminding you to pause and breathe. —Brittany Talarico, PEOPLE, 9 Nov. 2025

After first landing in the Von Kármán crater, a 110-mile-wide divot, Yutu-2 employed radar to explore beneath its surface. —Literary Hub, 28 Oct. 2025

The right temple’s divot holds both the capture button for snapping photos and a customizable action button that defaults to starting a hyperlapse video. —PC Magazine, 21 Oct. 2025

Word History

Etymology

alteration of earlier Scots devat, from Middle English (Scots) duvat

First Known Use

circa 1540, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for divot

• civet
• pivot
• privet
• rivet