From the M-W Editors
Origin and Etymology of mote
Middle English, from Old English mōtan to be allowed to — more at must
Definition of mote
: a small particle : speck motes danced in the shafts of sunlight — Margaret Kennedy
Examples of mote in a Sentence
there's not a mote of dirt in that woman's house
Recent Examples of mote from the Web
-
Motes was prohibited from soliciting customers or employees or opening a competing business in the state for two years after leaving the company, the lawsuit says.
-
Rather than cutting, doubling funding for some form of competitive grants to states would allow the federal government to incentivize high quality pre-K in the majority of states, while still the size of dust mote in the federal budget.
-
The supernova campaign serves as a reminder, whether comforting or terrifying, that humanity exists on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam, as Carl Sagan once wrote.
-
Administrators at Goshen High School said the senior class was more than excited to welcome Motes into the class of 2017.
-
In July, Delft University physicist Sander Otte showed off a way to fit all that writing in a space smaller than a dust mote.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'mote.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Origin and Etymology of mote
Middle English mot, from Old English; akin to Middle Dutch & Frisian mot sand
MOTE Defined for English Language Learners
mote
playDefinition of mote for English Language Learners
-
: a very small piece of dust, dirt, etc.
MOTE Defined for Kids
Learn More about mote
-
See words that rhyme with mote Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for mote Spanish Central: Translation of mote Nglish: Translation of mote for Spanish speakers
Seen and Heard
What made you want to look up mote? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).
Writing? Check your grammar now!