plural specks
1
: a small discoloration or spot especially from stain or decay
2
: a very small amount : bit
3
: something marked or marred with specks
specked; specking; specks
: to mark (something or someone) with or as if with specks : speckle
High up against the horizon were the huge conical masses of hill … with sombre greenish sides visibly specked with sheep …—
George Eliot
George Eliot… the strange little figure there gazing at me, with a white face and arms specking the gloom … had the effect of a real spirit …—Charlotte Brontë
Charlotte Brontë
: a cold-smoked Italian ham that is flavored with herbs and spices such as juniper, black pepper, and garlic
Speck, like prosciutto, is a salt- and air-cured and aged pork hind leg. Unlike prosciutto, speck is cold-smoked, which makes it rare among Italian cured meats.—Allison Batdorff
Allison BatdorffSpeck is deeply red and more firm in texture than prosciutto. Since it's a cured meat, it can be sliced thin and eaten raw in an antipasti platter, wrapped around sweet fruits, or layered on sandwiches.—Emma Christensen
Emma ChristensenDiaphanous sheets of speck and pucks of fried trotters are piled onto picturesque salumi platters.—Garrett Snyder
Garrett SnyderBy the time Roman agronomist Cato the Elder wrote his famous treatise on agriculture around 160 BC, the techniques for salt-curing ham he describes were well established, the precursor of today's prosciutto and speck.—Steven Raichlen
Steven RaichlenExamples of speck in a Sentence
Noun (1)
There was not a speck of dust anywhere.
Soon the balloon was only a speck in the sky.
She writes without a speck of humor.
Verb
dirt that had specked the windows of the factory for ages
Recent Examples on the Web
Ken Belson, New York Times, 12 Apr. 2025
Having very high levels of fluoride can result in some erosion of tooth enamel, which can predispose people to tooth staining and can cause little white specks on the teeth, says Oller.
—Sherri Gordon, Clc, Parents, 11 Apr. 2025
New York Times, 16 Nov. 2019
Now, their territory has fewer than 1,000 residents and consists of about 7,300 acres, with roads wandering through woods specked with modest family homes.
—New York Times, 22 June 2018
See All Example Sentences for speck
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Noun
With five stores and a small online presence, Whim is just a speck in the vast retail universe.
—Ken Belson, New York Times, 12 Apr. 2025
Having very high levels of fluoride can result in some erosion of tooth enamel, which can predispose people to tooth staining and can cause little white specks on the teeth, says Oller.
—Sherri Gordon, Clc, Parents, 11 Apr. 2025
Verb
The 656-foot vessel, called the Golden Ray, has been lying since early September off a slice of the Georgia coast specked with resorts and sprawling high-dollar homes.
—New York Times, 16 Nov. 2019
Now, their territory has fewer than 1,000 residents and consists of about 7,300 acres, with roads wandering through woods specked with modest family homes.
—New York Times, 22 June 2018
See All Example Sentences for speck
Cite this Entry
“Speck.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/speck. Accessed 4 May. 2025.
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