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

This double-crust, old-fashioned pie may look ordinary on the outside, but when it's sliced, the inside reveals vibrant orange layers of sweet potatoes flecked with spices and sweetened with sugar and sorghum syrup. —Kaitlyn Yarborough, Southern Living, 28 Dec. 2025

Halcyon, a mauve tone with turquoise shimmer, and Nymphaea, a magenta flecked with pink and lilac glitter. —Sophia Panych, Allure, 6 Dec. 2025

Noun

López reportedly found flecks of gold while digging wild onions, sparking an early gold rush. —Don Sweeney, Sacbee.com, 26 Dec. 2025

Shiny and dark evergreen foliage is held aloft on strong, arching stems mottled with purple flecks. —Kim Toscano, Southern Living, 21 Dec. 2025

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