dotted 1 of 2

dotted

2 of 2

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
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 This clipboard also comes in seven other decorative designs, including black-dotted, mint floral and navy floral, among others. Bestreviews, Chicago Tribune, 22 Aug. 2025
Verb
The design features Hello Kitty and Tiny Chum and is dotted with coffee beans and Starbucks mugs. Melina Khan, USA Today, 7 Oct. 2025 Long before celebrity chefs and social media buzz, the city’s neighborhoods were dotted with coffee counters, family-run diners and grand dining rooms. Elissa Robinson, Freep.com, 6 Oct. 2025 Beneath a pink bow laden with rhinestones, colorful floral paper was dotted with rhinestones laid in heart and star shapes. Zoey Lyttle, PEOPLE, 1 Oct. 2025 The Aquitaine countryside unfolds in a collage of khaki, tan, and green, dotted with little ponds and copses of trees. Anna Gaca, Pitchfork, 1 Oct. 2025 The most popular beaches for swimming and lounging are dotted with brightly colored umbrellas and chairs, but there are also those that are a bit more remote and undeveloped. Lydia Mansel, Travel + Leisure, 30 Sep. 2025 Pine, Colorado — As massive granite outcroppings dotted with evergreen trees jutted skyward from the landscape of Colorado’s Southern Rockies on a warm Tuesday morning, the serenity of bird calls and a babbling creek was shattered by a radio call from a park ranger in distress. Andi Babineau, CNN Money, 29 Sep. 2025 Style-wise, the spring 2026 collection offered intriguing iterations on the Panama or toquilla hat in raffia or straw, including an earthy brown version with a dégradé band and a midnight blue style dotted in golden and copper rounded studs. Martino Carrera, Footwear News, 29 Sep. 2025 Just off Helen Highway, the coffee shop opens onto rolling pastures dotted with grazing cows and sweeping views of Yonah Mountain. Symiah Dorsey, Southern Living, 28 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dotted
Adjective
  • 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
  • An invasive planthopper native to Asia, the spotted lanternfly is thought to have entered the U.S. via egg masses on a stone shipment in 2012, according to Cornell Integrated Pest Management.
    Katie Nixon, The Tennessean, 25 Aug. 2025
Verb
  • These pastries are made from laminated dough, rolled thin, sprinkled with sugar and baked until crisp, golden and flaky.
    Tiffany Acosta, AZCentral.com, 1 Oct. 2025
  • In 1903 and from 1905 through 1968, baseball’s World Series matched two pennant winners; teams went directly from winning the AL or NL to the championship best-of-seven (with a few best-of-nines sprinkled in).
    Zach Powell, New York Times, 30 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • Behind Timm was her unassuming garden, flecked with tall grasses and native plants of all sizes – a quiet haven alive with color, movement and purpose.
    Caitlin Looby, jsonline.com, 25 Sep. 2025
  • Éclairs with glossy chocolate tops, macarons in muted pastels that feel like edible architecture, madeleines flecked with salt or spice.
    Daniel Scheffler, Forbes.com, 27 Aug. 2025
Adjective
  • While diamonds account for the lion’s share of the Terre d’Instinct collection, Messika has also used colored stones for the first time.
    Lily Templeton, Footwear News, 3 Oct. 2025
  • For a dose of history and architecture, head straight to the capital, Marigot, for a photo op on Rue de La République in front of the pastel-colored 18th-century colonial buildings.
    Essence, Essence, 3 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Federal agents responded with chemical crowd control munitions, including tear gas canisters and less-lethal guns that sprayed pepper balls.
    Jason Ma, Fortune, 5 Oct. 2025
  • Footage obtained by Fox News and photos by the Associated Press show two protesters, including a woman standing directly in front of a federal agent, being sprayed with what appeared to be mace outside the Portland ICE building.
    Billal Rahman, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • If a toilet seat is stained, go ahead and buy a replacement.
    Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 3 Oct. 2025
  • In his third season in Boulder, coach Deion Sanders continues to lament an issue that ruined his first season and stained his second.
    Troy Renck, Denver Post, 26 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • 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
  • On the platform, around the clock, the racket of metal bore pipes and machinery, the drilling grime and the speckled mud mingled with the quieter, cleaner work of scientists in trailers converted to pristine labs and processing posts.
    Rodrique Ngowi, Fortune, 7 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • The streets are brimming with culture, as homes and buildings peppered throughout the town are adorned with beautiful, colorful murals featuring Black men and women.
    Essence, Essence, 6 Oct. 2025
  • Wildflower Farms is a sprawling estate of 65 freestanding cabins and cottages, with common areas, like a massive open-air porch, peppered throughout for plenty of room to stretch out in.
    Elly Leavitt, Vogue, 1 Oct. 2025

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Dotted.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dotted. Accessed 9 Oct. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on dotted

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!