mote
noun
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Definition of mote
(Entry 1 of 2)
: a small particle : speck motes danced in the shafts of sunlight— Margaret Kennedy
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Synonyms for mote
Synonyms: Noun
atom, bit, crumb, dribble, fleck, flyspeck, grain, granule, molecule, morsel, nubbin, nugget, particle, patch, scrap, scruple, snip, snippet, speck, tittle
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Examples of mote in a Sentence
Noun
there's not a mote of dirt in that woman's houseRecent Examples on the Web: Noun
The main worry is with the tiniest motes — known as PM 2.5, particulate matter smaller than 2.5 microns across. — Sara Morrison, USA TODAY, "In developing world, an expensive push to reduce cooking fire deaths falls short," 13 July 2018 Read more: Some highlights from the study results: Automotive globalization: Vehicles are now made in 25 countries for the U.S. market, which is 11 mote than five years ago. — Eric D. Lawrence, Detroit Free Press, "Korean brands top J.D. Power quality; Ford, GM and FCA make strides," 20 June 2018 These celestial lighthouses can basically backlight the material that crosses the beam’s path, just as a flashlight beam illuminates unseen motes of dust in the air. — Amina Khan, latimes.com, "After years of searching, scientists can finally account for all the normal matter in the universe," 20 June 2018 Worse yet, the first two-thirds of the picture look dim and murky, as if it had been shot through a scrim of dust motes. — Stephanie Zacharek, Time, "Review: Solo Is an Uneven Star Wars Film. But It's Filled With Terrific Performances," 16 May 2018 But there is a mote of solace that bears repeating: Hair is just a piece of our identity. — Sarah Maslin Nir, Town & Country, "Strands of Truth: Hair, Self-Expression, and Identity," 23 Apr. 2018 Both of those shooters required aiming a Wii-mote as a pointer at all times, and this enabled a remarkable level of precision. — Sam Machkovech, Ars Technica, "Doom on Switch may have changed everything with new motion controls," 20 Feb. 2018 It was crushed under the shoes of guests, so little motes of popcorn dust blew through the air. — Vanessa Friedman, New York Times, "Calvin Klein’s Electrifying Popcorn Fashion Apocalypse," 14 Feb. 2018 While paleontologists studying dinosaurs can sometimes bring an unambiguously gigantic femur home, those who study the origins of life are usually left arguing over the significance of microscopic motes of rock. — Scott K. Johnson, Ars Technica, "New evidence would push life back to at least 3.95 billion years ago," 30 Sep. 2017These 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.
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More Definitions for mote
mote
nounEnglish Language Learners Definition of mote
: a very small piece of dust, dirt, etc.
See the full definition for mote in the English Language Learners Dictionary
mote
noun
\
Kids Definition of mote
: a small particle : speck a mote of dust
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