as in speck
a very small piece
there's not a mote of dirt in that woman's house
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Recent Examples of mote
T’Challa’s coffin, carried by its team of all-woman warrior pallbearers—including Danai Gurira’s Okoye, showing nothing but betraying every mote of sorrow even so—is eventually relinquished to the sky, where it’s subsumed into a triangular ceremonial object and whisked off, gone forever.
—
Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 8 Nov. 2022
The world’s smallest battery is smaller than a dust mote.
—Joshua Hawkins, BGR, 1 Mar. 2022
How lonely, and how far away everything is compared to that mote of dust.
—NBC News, 22 July 2021
George was nearly beyond retrieval, a tiny glint of a mote, like a wayward flea.
—Cynthia Ozick, The New Yorker, 14 June 2021
See All Example Sentences for mote
Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 8 Nov. 2022
The world’s smallest battery is smaller than a dust mote.
—Joshua Hawkins, BGR, 1 Mar. 2022
How lonely, and how far away everything is compared to that mote of dust.
—NBC News, 22 July 2021
George was nearly beyond retrieval, a tiny glint of a mote, like a wayward flea.
—Cynthia Ozick, The New Yorker, 14 June 2021
See All Example Sentences for mote
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mote
Noun
-
Within the span of a few days, an innocuous speck can turn a loaf of bread from prime sandwich material into a hideous mass of blue-green fuzz—an appetite-killing sight if ever there was one.—
Caroline Tien,
SELF,
1 May 2025
-
The dark speck near the bottom at the end of the line is Curiosity.—
Amanda Kooser,
Forbes.com,
26 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
Microplastics are small plastic particles that come from broken down plastics, according to a study in the National Library of Medicine.—
Melina Khan,
USA Today,
12 May 2025
-
Hydrolyzed marine collagen undergoes a process called enzymatic hydrolysis that breaks it down into even smaller particles called collagen peptides.—
Veronica Cristino,
Vogue,
7 May 2025
Noun
-
This nude lipstick shade has just a touch of warmth to it, plus gold flecks that catch the light for fuller-looking lips.—
Claire Sullivan,
Footwear News,
6 May 2025
-
For all his flaws, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s willingness to speak openly about autism as a public health concern led some of us to find flecks of hope in his arrival as secretary of health and human services.—
Mark Kendall,
Mercury News,
12 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
Inflation eased to a four-year low Your wallet may feel a tiny bit of ease.—
Rebecca Morin,
USA Today,
14 May 2025
-
That promo bit was preceded by a series of surprise mini-concerts at other bars in Boston and Nashville, as well as a pop-in at Nashville’s Santa’s Pub with Noah Kahan for a short dual set and reconstruction the pop-up pub at the Coachella Festival.—
Gil Kaufman,
Billboard,
13 May 2025
Noun
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The independent lab also tested another 66 samples of nine ancient grains: amaranth, barley, buckwheat, bulgur, couscous, farro, millet, quinoa and spelt. Results showed rice purchased by shoppers contained 28 times more arsenic than the alternative grains.—
Sandee LaMotte,
CNN Money,
15 May 2025
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Always work with the grain of the wood and keep the nozzle moving to prevent noticeable lines.—
Mary Cornetta,
Better Homes & Gardens,
15 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Mote.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mote. Accessed 23 May. 2025.
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