speckle

1 of 2

noun

speck·​le ˈspe-kəl 

: a little speck (as of color)

speckle

2 of 2

verb

speckled; speckling ˈspe-k(ə-)liŋ 

transitive verb

1

: to mark with speckles

2

: to be distributed in or on like speckles

Synonyms of speckle

Noun

• fleck
• speck
• dot
• blotch
• patch

Verb

• sprinkle
• dot
• stain
• pepper
• fleck
• dye
• speck

Examples of speckle in a Sentence

Noun

a ripe banana with lots of brown speckles

the cat has a speckle of orange right at her whiskers

Verb

speckled the cookies with colored sugar

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Devil’s Den State Park, Arkansas Wood and stone structures erected by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s speckle the rugged landscape of Devil’s Den State Park. — Evie Carrick, Travel + Leisure, 20 July 2026

Designed for dedicated viewing rooms, the Valerion Max offers 4K UHD projection with 3,500 lumens and speckle reduction to reduce the unwanted artifacts caused by laser projection. — Benny Har-Even, Forbes.com, 30 May 2026

Verb

Right after this first bench, the trail is speckled with rocks that reminded me of dinosaur eggs or little bits of the moon. — Jaclyn Cosgrove, Los Angeles Times, 23 July 2026

That jersey — the right one, the real one, the Blackhawks one — still speckles the United Center on a nightly basis, mixing in with all the 98s in the crowd for every home game. — Mark Lazerus, New York Times, 23 July 2026

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English; akin to Old English specca

First Known Use

Noun

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Verb

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing speckle

• speckle interferometry

Rhymes for speckle

• decal
• freckle
• meckel
• shekel
• thecal

Kids Definition

speckle

1 of 2 noun

speck·​le ˈspek-əl 

: a small mark (as of color)

speckle

2 of 2 verb

speckled; speckling ˈspek-(ə-)liŋ 

: to mark with speckles