spotty

adjective

spot·​ty ˈspä-tē 

spottier; spottiest

1

: marked with spots : spotted

2

: lacking uniformity especially in quality

the performance was spotty

also : irregularly or sparsely distributed

spotty attendance

spotty data

spottily

ˈspä-tə-lē 

adverb

spottiness

ˈspä-tē-nəs 

noun

Synonyms of spotty

• sporadic
• intermittent
• occasional
• erratic

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

Throughout the park, cellphone service is generally spotty, so your entire experience can be offline. —Mindy Sink, Denver Post, 7 Dec. 2025

Temperatures warm into the 40s and lower 50s on Wednesday, with more clouds and a chance of spotty rain. —Cutter Martin, CBS News, 7 Dec. 2025

Jackson's lack of production on the field is no coincidence, given his spotty practice participation over the past four weeks. —Trevor Squire, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 Dec. 2025

The camp does not allow attendees to have their phones, and cell service at the Guadalupe camp earlier this year was reportedly spotty. —Mirna Alsharif, NBC news, 2 Dec. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for spotty

• dotty
• doughty
• draughty
• haughty
• knotty
• naughty
• potty
• scottie
• strati
• zloty
• basmati
• bharati

Kids 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

spottily

ˈspät-ᵊl-ē 

adverb

spottiness

ˈspät-ē-nəs 

noun