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dotted

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verb

past tense of dot
1
2
as in flecked
to mark with small spots especially unevenly the practice of some chefs of positioning a small portion of food in the center and dotting the rest of the plate with sauce

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of dotted
Adjective
This reversible quilt has a hint of floral romance on one side and a more minimalist dotted print on the other. Shea Simmons, Southern Living, 9 Oct. 2025 Examples include dotted prints, the flat-thong sandal and the color yellow. Chloe Veltman, NPR, 4 Oct. 2025 However, satellite and supporting video filmed from a high rise on Al Rashid, a major road that runs through Gaza, shows tent camps remain dotted along the coastal road south of Gaza's port. Camilla Alcini, ABC News, 17 Sep. 2025 Salesforce contract renewals often become routine exercises—reviewing user counts, negotiating minor discounts and signing on the dotted line. Buyan Thyagarajan, Forbes.com, 16 Sep. 2025 Moms pushed babies in strollers on a road divided by a median of blowing sand and creeping ice plant succulents, still striped with dotted white lines marking what used to be driving lanes. Janie Har, Fortune, 16 Sep. 2025 Simple arithmetic such as 355/113 could be calculated in place by selecting the text and pressing USE FRONT-CALC (Control-G), which yields the answer with a dotted underline to indicate the result of a computation. Cameron Kaiser, ArsTechnica, 12 Sep. 2025 Prospects seem good that someone will sign on the dotted line during or soon after the Toronto event. Julie Hinds, Freep.com, 3 Sep. 2025 Meanwhile, at Copenhagen Fashion Week in August, show-goers seemed to favor the print above the usual suspects — florals, stripes and leopard spots — with several completing their looks with dotted neck ties, windbreakers, blazers, bloomer shorts or bandanas. Natalie Hammond, CNN Money, 25 Aug. 2025
Verb
Beneath a pink bow laden with rhinestones, colorful floral paper was dotted with rhinestones laid in heart and star shapes. Zoey Lyttle, PEOPLE, 27 Oct. 2025 Both parishes are dotted with towns and cities of varying sizes. Christopher Cann, USA Today, 27 Oct. 2025 The history of chocolate is dotted with controversy. Aleksandra Crapanzano, The Atlantic, 27 Oct. 2025 By mid-morning on the middle day of track action at Formula One’s 2025 United States Grand Prix, the hillside was dotted with chairs. Patrick Iversen, New York Times, 25 Oct. 2025 He was born in 1915 in Pandharpur, a pilgrimage town dotted with Hindu temples in western India. Oscar Holland, CNN Money, 24 Oct. 2025 Crum had all the physical attributes a team could want, but his senior year tape at left tackle was dotted with him getting pushed backward. Parker Gabriel, Denver Post, 24 Oct. 2025 Balloons in red and white dotted the sky, as the yachts with flags in the same colors sailed by. Mayu Saini, Footwear News, 17 Oct. 2025 Instead of a membrane-like surface seen on other bugs, the leg organ is composed of a waxy covering dotted with several thousand pores connected to porous glands. Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 16 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dotted
Adjective
  • The famed pastry chef shared a photo of 4-year-old Josephine striking a fierce pose in an animal-print dress, along with spotted ears, paws and shoes to match, in an Instagram post on Saturday, Oct. 18.
    Erin Clements, PEOPLE, 20 Oct. 2025
  • Every inch of their spotted, streamlined bodies is designed for life on the move, carrying them across entire oceans in search of clouds of plankton and fish eggs.
    Melissa Cristina Márquez, Forbes.com, 12 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • Think a more year-round COTA, with a dash more exclusivity sprinkled in.
    Patrick Iversen, New York Times, 25 Oct. 2025
  • According to Deadline, Scorsone's eight-episode hiatus will happen consecutively as opposed to other cast members' screen time reductions that are sprinkled throughout the season.
    Emily Blackwood, PEOPLE, 24 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Among the other standouts are Klimt’s Blooming Meadow (1908)—a sea of green grass and trees flecked with blue, yellow, and pink dabs of wildflowers—and six figurative bronzes by Matisse.
    Julie Belcove, Robb Report, 26 Oct. 2025
  • The first two discs are flecked with revelations.
    Will Hermes, Rolling Stone, 19 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • When not multi-colored with bespoke rainbows or other artists’ visions, two-tone exterior color patterns were also acceptable decades ago.
    James Raia, Mercury News, 26 Oct. 2025
  • Don't clean colored or delicate fabrics like silk, electronics, or some types of metal.
    Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 25 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • The fence corners are clean, so are the ditches, and the fruit trees have been pruned and sprayed.
    Jack O'Connor, Outdoor Life, 23 Oct. 2025
  • So the little Indian doctor took off and came back with a mask and sprayed all around the room.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 22 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • The leather on the shoes appears to be slightly decayed, worn, cracked and brittle, while the laces and midsole are stained, giving a distressed, lived-in effect.
    Karla Rodriguez, Footwear News, 27 Oct. 2025
  • The outlet published photographs of first responders gathered around a scene on a Brazilian street, as well as an image of a white cow with horns and blood stained on its coat.
    Sean Neumann, PEOPLE, 24 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • The design of the Grosche Milano Stone stovetop espresso maker, a speckled stone that looks like the bottom of a creek, gives your stovetop coffee maker a contemporary look that’s suited for a modern kitchen.
    Yelena Moroz Alpert, Architectural Digest, 10 Oct. 2025
  • This golden bouquet, which comes in a speckled brown ceramic pot, adds moody vibes and a pop of fall-friendly color, to the countertops, table, or coffee table.
    Stephanie Osmanski, Better Homes & Gardens, 9 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • The Sharks peppered New York Islanders goalie Ilya Sorokin with 29 shots in the first two periods, but were their own worst enemy at times, especially in front of their own net, in a 4-3 loss at UBS Arena.
    Curtis Pashelka, Mercury News, 22 Oct. 2025
  • The Oilers effectively peppered the Canucks netminder, landing 37 shots on goal, to just 15 for Vancouver.
    MSNBC Newsweek, MSNBC Newsweek, 14 Oct. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Dotted.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dotted. Accessed 29 Oct. 2025.

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