pockmark

1 of 2

noun

pock·​mark ˈpäk-ˌmärk 

: a mark, pit, or depressed scar caused by smallpox or acne

also : an imperfection or depression like a pockmark

pockmark

2 of 2

verb

pockmarked; pockmarking; pockmarks

transitive verb

: to cover with or as if with pockmarks : pit

Synonyms

Noun

• scar
• defect
• blotch
• mark

Examples of pockmark in a Sentence

Noun

The bullets left pockmarks in the wall.

the explosion left little pockmarks all over the face of the adjacent building

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Granted, Miller was 33 in his first Buffalo season, but that six-year, $120 million transaction has been an organizational pockmark. —Tim Graham, The Athletic, 14 Feb. 2025

Romano posted that alongside a photo of her with a pockmark in her cheek just below an eye, adding that bullet fragments lodged behind her eye and in her forehead were too risky to remove. —Theresa Braine, New York Daily News, 10 Feb. 2025

Verb

Two of the astronauts will then transfer to the Starship HLS, which will carry them down to the moon’s south pole, a treacherous area pockmarked with steep craters. —Jackie Wattles, CNN Money, 12 Oct. 2025

Our truck skidded to a stop outside a 14-story building pockmarked with shell holes. —Ken Harbaugh, The Atlantic, 15 Sep. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

circa 1646, in the meaning defined above

Verb

1756, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for pockmark

• ballpark
• benchmark
• birthmark
• daymark
• earmark
• embark
• hallmark
• landmark
• monarch
• postmark
• remark
• skylark

Kids Definition

pockmark

1 of 2 noun

pock·​mark ˈpäk-ˌmärk 

: the scar caused by smallpox or acne

also : an imperfection suggesting a pockmark

pockmark

2 of 2 verb

: to cover with or as if with pockmarks

Medical Definition

pockmark

noun

pock·​mark ˈpäk-ˌmärk 

: a mark, pit, or depressed scar caused by smallpox or acne

pockmarked adjective