as in specks
a very small piece
there's not a mote of dirt in that woman's house
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Recent Examples of motes
Tiny bugs float in the sun like dust motes, and there are graceful flies large enough to require a runway landing.
—
John Metcalfe, Mercury News, 4 May 2026
Sunbeams through the windows illuminate floating dust motes—and, imperceptibly, microdroplets of mucus carrying the measles virus, expelled from an infected but asymptomatic child who is hopping and laughing among the others.
—Elizabeth Bruenig, The Atlantic, 12 Feb. 2026
Easily swept up by wind and carried long distances by water, these tiny motes are also exceedingly difficult to detect and almost impossible to remove from the environment.
—K. R. Callaway, Scientific American, 22 Jan. 2026
There’s a Gambit-adjacent one that has players depositing motes while killing other teams.
—Paul Tassi, Forbes.com, 30 Aug. 2025
The sensors’ small size allows seamless integration into almost any environment, while the wireless, modular design lets motes be added or removed as needed depending on the application.
—Georgina Jedikovska, Interesting Engineering, 6 Aug. 2025
Powering and recording signals from multiple motes will require new techniques and better signal processing.
—Eliza Strickland, IEEE Spectrum, 21 Oct. 2016
John Metcalfe, Mercury News, 4 May 2026
Sunbeams through the windows illuminate floating dust motes—and, imperceptibly, microdroplets of mucus carrying the measles virus, expelled from an infected but asymptomatic child who is hopping and laughing among the others.
—Elizabeth Bruenig, The Atlantic, 12 Feb. 2026
Easily swept up by wind and carried long distances by water, these tiny motes are also exceedingly difficult to detect and almost impossible to remove from the environment.
—K. R. Callaway, Scientific American, 22 Jan. 2026
There’s a Gambit-adjacent one that has players depositing motes while killing other teams.
—Paul Tassi, Forbes.com, 30 Aug. 2025
The sensors’ small size allows seamless integration into almost any environment, while the wireless, modular design lets motes be added or removed as needed depending on the application.
—Georgina Jedikovska, Interesting Engineering, 6 Aug. 2025
Powering and recording signals from multiple motes will require new techniques and better signal processing.
—Eliza Strickland, IEEE Spectrum, 21 Oct. 2016
Recent Examples of Synonyms for motes
Noun
-
This looks like tiny black or reddish-brown specks that resemble coffee grounds.—
Emily Hayes,
Martha Stewart,
9 June 2026
-
But such interludes add up to small specks of stormclouds in the show’s otherwise sunny skies.—
Alison Herman,
Variety,
2 June 2026
Noun
-
Seasonal allergies are primarily caused by trees and grasses, whose tiny pollen particles travel on the wind.—
Alexandra Jones,
The Spruce,
10 June 2026
-
The experiment produced nanophase iron, tiny metallic particles that are widely observed in lunar soil and are considered a key signature of space weathering.—
Neetika Walter,
Interesting Engineering,
10 June 2026
Noun
-
But flecks of green were visible throughout the stadium as Algeria fans made their presence known as well.—
Pete Grathoff,
Kansas City Star,
17 June 2026
-
There are also flecks of red embedded throughout the pattern.—
Steven Johnson,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
15 June 2026
Noun
-
After hearing these songs, the happier ones at the beginning of the album reveal bits of shadow that Rodrigo has built into them to presage what’s to come — to presage what always comes.—
Mikael Wood,
Los Angeles Times,
12 June 2026
-
Work was completed on the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool last weekend, with attention turning to other bits of the president’s construction projects, such as his triumphal arch.—
Rob Crilly,
The Washington Examiner,
12 June 2026
Noun
-
Kosher salt, with its coarse, medium-sized grains, is favored for its clean flavor, versatility, and ease of handling.—
Heather Riske,
Better Homes & Gardens,
14 June 2026
-
Straw is the agricultural byproduct of harvesting cereal grains such as barley, wheat and rice.—
Noah Daly,
Idaho Statesman,
13 June 2026
Noun
-
Since applying those patches to the Cameroon players’s arms wasn’t really an option, a rethink was required.—
Nick Miller,
New York Times,
17 June 2026
-
The Saudis should be thrilled with the draw, as favored Uruguay, La Celeste, dominated large patches of the match with 67 percent overall possession, a 10-3 margin in shots, 14-4 in corner kicks, more than double the accurate passes and forcing nine saves of the busy Saudi goalkeeper.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
16 June 2026
Noun
-
Some of these molecules act like roadblocks, slowing immune cells down.—
Charles J. Dimitroff,
The Conversation,
12 June 2026
-
It was just hidden in their organic molecules, silicate glasses, and sulfur compounds.—
Quanta Magazine,
Quanta Magazine,
12 June 2026
Noun
-
Don't leave food scraps sitting around.—
Amber Harding OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
16 June 2026
-
The little four-note melodic scraps tumble over each other ceaselessly in a call-and-response that scrambles your sense of which end is transmission and which is reception.—
Jayson Greene,
Pitchfork,
16 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Motes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/motes. Accessed 18 Jun. 2026.
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