spottier; spottiest
2
: lacking uniformity especially in quality
the performance was spotty
also
: irregularly or sparsely distributed
spotty attendance
spotty data
Examples of spotty in a Sentence
Her work has been spotty.
The service at that restaurant is a little spotty.
students with spotty attendance records
Recent Examples on the Web
Through a spotty cell phone connection, authorities discovered that Strommer was on the trail and that his headlamp and phone were nearly dead.
—
David Chiu, PEOPLE, 1 Nov. 2025
Sheppard — pressed into service after Fred VanVleet's possibly season-ending ACL tear suffered in September — has been so spotty on defense that Udoka has been reticent to play him much.
—Alex Kirschenbaum, MSNBC Newsweek, 31 Oct. 2025
The vast majority of Tarrant County has access to high-speed broadband, but there’s spotty coverage in parts of Parker and Johnson counties, and there are quite a few unserved areas in Palo Pinto and Erath counties to the west of Fort Worth.
—Matthew Adams, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 27 Oct. 2025
Rainfall in autumn can be spotty.
—Megan Hughes, Better Homes & Gardens, 25 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for spotty
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David Chiu, PEOPLE, 1 Nov. 2025
Sheppard — pressed into service after Fred VanVleet's possibly season-ending ACL tear suffered in September — has been so spotty on defense that Udoka has been reticent to play him much.
—Alex Kirschenbaum, MSNBC Newsweek, 31 Oct. 2025
The vast majority of Tarrant County has access to high-speed broadband, but there’s spotty coverage in parts of Parker and Johnson counties, and there are quite a few unserved areas in Palo Pinto and Erath counties to the west of Fort Worth.
—Matthew Adams, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 27 Oct. 2025
Rainfall in autumn can be spotty.
—Megan Hughes, Better Homes & Gardens, 25 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for spotty
Cite this Entry
“Spotty.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/spotty. Accessed 9 Nov. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
spotty
adjective
spot·ty
ˈspät-ē 
spottier; spottiest
1
: having spots
2
: not always the same especially in quality
your work has been spotty
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