dot

1 of 4

noun (1)

1
: a small spot : speck entry 1
2
: a small round mark: such as
a(1)
: a small point made with a pointed instrument
a dot on the chart marked the ship's position
(2)
: a small round mark used in orthography or punctuation
put a dot over the i
b
: a centered point used as a multiplication sign (as in 6 · 5 = 30)
c(1)
: a point after a note or rest in music indicating augmentation of the time value by one half
(2)
: a point over or under a note indicating that it is to be played staccato
3
: a precise point especially in time
arrived at six on the dot
4
: a short click or buzz forming a letter or part of a letter (as in the Morse code)
5
: a point used to separate components of an address on the Internet

dot

2 of 4

verb

dotted; dotting

transitive verb

1
: to mark with a dot
2
: to intersperse with dots or objects scattered at random
boats dotting the lake

intransitive verb

: to make a dot
dotter noun

dot

3 of 4

noun (2)

DOT

4 of 4

abbreviation

Department of Transportation

Examples of dot in a Sentence

Verb Don't forget to dot the i. Quaint cottages dot the countryside. The fields were dotted with wildflowers. Dot the cream all over your face.
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Rows of dots sit below a smeary red orb, as if the sun is setting on a land of abstract forms. Mark Jenkins, Washington Post, 22 Mar. 2024 Eventually, casting executives were able to connect the dots and recognized the former model from her centerfold days. Esther Kang, Peoplemag, 20 Mar. 2024 Many are connecting the dots with the stylistic similarities between Daniels and free agent acquisition Marcus Mariota, mostly because their athleticism fits nicely in new offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury’s offensive system. Eddie Brown, San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 Mar. 2024 How the Fed can help: Enter the Fed’s quarterly Summary of Economic Projections, which contains what’s colloquially known as the dot plot. Nicole Goodkind, CNN, 20 Mar. 2024 Dark red dots along the path of totality represent areas that will experience a total solar eclipse, and all other orange areas will see the moon partially cover the sun. USA TODAY, 6 Mar. 2024 Click Lists, then one of your lists, then the three dots (to the right), and Edit list. David Nield / Gizmodo, Quartz, 4 Mar. 2024 In the video, a green laser dot appears on his leg. Chris Eberhart, Fox News, 12 Mar. 2024 Klimt’s relatively wild dots are punctuated by lots of light-green pears and then shrink to virtual atoms of color for the distant hedges. Roberta Smith, New York Times, 10 Mar. 2024
Verb
Confetti dotted the floor, and children milled about onstage, inspecting a wooden barn. Kyle Chayka, The New Yorker, 25 Mar. 2024 As the flat Po Valley in Emilia transitions into the hilly terrain of Romagna, the land becomes dotted with vineyards. Laura Itzkowitz, Vogue, 25 Mar. 2024 The 360-degree views of the Austin skyline show a city dotted by cranes and construction in almost all directions. Michal Lev-Ram, Fortune, 25 Mar. 2024 The men had been in the area — a hilly, forested landscape dotted by ranches and private homes behind locked gates — searching for deer antler sheds when the attack happened around 1 p.m. Sam Stanton, Sacramento Bee, 24 Mar. 2024 From this rugged swath of high desert landscape dotted with sagebrush, visitors who stay up late can see large numbers of stars, planets and other celestial bodies. Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 21 Mar. 2024 In the Donbas, a region of rolling hills dotted with coal mines and factories, Russia has been pressing along four lines of attack, seeking to exploit openings created by capturing Avdiivka. Maria Varenikova, New York Times, 20 Mar. 2024 The pandemic brought live events and big gatherings to a halt, silencing orchestras, shutting museums and movie theaters and leaving sports teams playing to empty stadiums dotted with cardboard cutouts. New York Times, 12 Mar. 2024 While the coastline is dotted with resort-style towns and villages, Lopes recommends Carvoeiro for its beautiful setting of dramatic cliffs, whitewashed houses with bold red rooftops, and diverse amenities, including top-notch golf courses and excellent restaurants. Dobrina Zhekova, Travel + Leisure, 6 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'dot.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Middle English *dot, from Old English dott head of a boil; akin to Old High German tutta nipple

Noun (2)

French, from Latin dot-, dos dowry

First Known Use

Noun (1)

1596, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

circa 1740, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Noun (2)

1822, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of dot was in 1596

Dictionary Entries Near dot

Cite this Entry

“Dot.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dot. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

dot

1 of 2 noun
1
: a small spot : speck
2
: a small round mark made with or as if with a pen: as
a
: a point after a note or rest in music indicating increase of the time value by one half
b
: a centered dot · used as a sign of multiplication
3
: an exact point in time or space
arrived at six on the dot
4
: a short click or buzz forming a letter or part of a letter (as in the Morse code)

dot

2 of 2 verb
dotted; dotting
1
: to mark with a dot
dot an "i"
2
: to cover with or as if with dots
green buds dotted the branches
dotter noun

Medical Definition

dot

noun
: a small spot or speck see maurer's dots, schuffner's dots

Legal Definition

DOT

abbreviation

More from Merriam-Webster on dot

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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