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
Storms can be spotty and short-lived, while others can unleash strong winds, flashes of lightning and torrential downpours.
—
Hayleigh Evans, AZCentral.com, 27 Sep. 2025
Public data before then is spotty, but there was a further £3m dating back to 1979-80.
—Chris Weatherspoon, New York Times, 24 Sep. 2025
But those sites don’t come with water or electricity and have spotty cell service.
—Shannon Pettypiece, NBC news, 22 Sep. 2025
Some districts couldn’t staff tutors reliably, and even worse, student attendance was spotty.
—Steve Grubbs, Forbes.com, 19 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for spotty
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Hayleigh Evans, AZCentral.com, 27 Sep. 2025
Public data before then is spotty, but there was a further £3m dating back to 1979-80.
—Chris Weatherspoon, New York Times, 24 Sep. 2025
But those sites don’t come with water or electricity and have spotty cell service.
—Shannon Pettypiece, NBC news, 22 Sep. 2025
Some districts couldn’t staff tutors reliably, and even worse, student attendance was spotty.
—Steve Grubbs, Forbes.com, 19 Sep. 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 30 Sep. 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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