sunspot

noun

sun·​spot ˈsən-ˌspät 

: any of the dark spots that appear at times on the sun's surface and are usually visible only through a telescope

Examples of sunspot in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The heightened conditions follow moderate solar activity that included several flares from active sunspot regions now roating across the sun’s surface. —Valerie Mesa, PEOPLE, 9 Apr. 2026

Risks are higher during periods of greater solar activity, which follows an 11-year cycle that researchers track by tallying the dark sunspots that represent magnetic storms capable of producing outbursts. —Meghan Bartels, Scientific American, 31 Mar. 2026

There are presently around 10 sunspot groups on the Earth-facing side of the sun. —Jamie Carter, Forbes.com, 29 Mar. 2026

Mandal and Kosovichev found that these rotating bands of plasma inside the Sun form a butterfly pattern that matches the way the location of sunspots changes across the sun's 11-year cycle of magnetic activity. —Keith Cooper, Space.com, 26 Mar. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1676, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for sunspot

• allot
• barat
• begot
• besought
• bethought
• bloodshot
• boycott
• buckshot
• crackpot
• croat
• culottes
• dashpot

Kids Definition

sunspot

noun

sun·​spot -ˌspät 

: one of the dark spots that appear from time to time on the sun's surface and are usually visible only through a telescope