fleck

1 of 2

verb

ˈflek 

flecked; flecking; flecks

transitive verb

1

: streak, spot

brown hair flecked with gray

Whitecaps flecked the blue sea.

2

: to color as if by sprinkling with flecks

His wit is flecked with sarcasm.

—James Atlas

fleck

2 of 2

noun

1

: spot, mark

a brown tweed with flecks of yellow

2

: flake, particle

Flecks of snow drifted down.

Synonyms of fleck

Verb

• sprinkle
• dot
• stain
• pepper
• speck

Noun

• speck
• dot
• blotch
• patch

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

Verb

Rounds of roasted purple sweet potatoes arrive mounded with a mixture of salsa macha and butter, and liberally flecked with chives. —Bill Addison, Los Angeles Times, 29 Jan. 2026

Outside, a man wearing a leather biker vest bearing the insignia of the Latin American Motorcycle Association, his blond beard flecked with ice crystals, directed a line of cars through the snow. —Adam Serwer, The Atlantic, 27 Jan. 2026

Noun

The remaining scenes draw on familiar teenage horror tropes, with flecks of fresh insight. —Natalia Winkelman, IndieWire, 24 Jan. 2026

Even just sitting in a humid cabinet can lead to flecks of rust on a cast-iron pan. —Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 21 Jan. 2026

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

Rhymes for fleck

• beck
• breck
• check
• cheque
• czech
• deck
• keck
• mech
• neck
• peck
• reck
• sec

Kids Definition

fleck

1 of 2 verb

ˈflek 

: streak entry 2 sense 1, spot

fleck

2 of 2 noun

1

: spot entry 1 sense 2a, mark

2

: flake entry 1, particle