speck

1 a small area that is different (as in color) from the main part a lizard with specks of white against a green body Synonyms blotch, dapple, dot, eyespot, fleck, mottle, patch, pip, point, spot, speckle, splotchRelated Words birthmark, freckle, mole; blob, blot, mark, smear, smudge, smutch, stain; spatter, splash; polka dot

2 a very small amount not a speck of explanation to accompany the book's pictures Synonyms ace, bit, crumb, dab, dram, driblet, glimmer, hint, lick, little, mite, nip, ounce, peanuts, ray, scintilla, scruple, shade, shadow, shred, skosh, smack, smell, smidgen (also smidgeon or smidgin or smidge), snap, soupçon, spark, spatter, particle, splash, spot, sprinkling, strain, streak, suspicion, tad, touch, traceRelated Words hoot, iota, jot, minim, minimum, modicum, semblance, syllable, tittle, vestige, whit; atom, dot, fleck, flyspeck, grain, granule, molecule, morsel, mote, nubbin, patch, scrap; dash, drop, pinch; part, portion, section; bite, nibble, taste; handful, scattering, smatter, smattering; dose, shot; chip, flake, fragment, shard, shiver, sliver, smithereens, splinter; shred, tatter; clipping, paring, shavingNear Antonyms abundance, barrel, boatload, bucket, bundle, bushel, deal, fistful, gobs, heaps, lashings (also lashins) [chiefly British], loads, lot, mass, mess, mountain, much, oodles, passel, peck, pile, plenty, potful, profusion, quantity, raft, reams, scads, stack, wad, wealth; volume; bonanza, embarrassment, excess, overabundance, overage, overflow, overkill, overmuch, oversupply, superabundance, superfluity, surfeit, surplus; chunk, hunk, lump, slab

3 a very small piece a speck of dust was preventing the laser from reading the disc Synonyms atom, crumb, dribble, fleck, flyspeck, grain, granule, molecule, morsel, mote, nubbin, nugget, particle, patch, scrap, scruple, snip, snippet, bit, tittleRelated Words ace, dab, dash, driblet, drop, fraction, haet [chiefly Scottish], halfpenny, ha'penny, iota, jot, kenning [chiefly Scottish], lick, minim, mite, modicum, nutshell, ounce, pinch, shred, smatter, smidgen (also smidgeon or smidgin or smidge), spot, strain, streak, suspicion, taste, touch, trace, whisper, whit; bite, mouthful, nibble, tidbit (also titbit); fragment, part, portion, section; chip, flake, shard, shiver, sliver, splinter; clipping, paring, shaving; smithereensNear Antonyms chunk, gob, hunk, lump, slab; abundance, barrel, bucket, bushel, deal, heaps, loads, mass, mountain, peck, pile, pot, profusion, quantity, raft, scads, stack, volume, wad, wealth