SPECK

speck, pinpoint

(noun) a very small spot; “the plane was just a speck in the sky”

touch, hint, tinge, mite, pinch, jot, speck, soupcon

(noun) a slight but appreciable amount; “this dish could use a touch of garlic”

atom, molecule, particle, corpuscle, mote, speck

(noun) (nontechnical usage) a tiny piece of anything

speck

(verb) produce specks in or on; “speck the cloth”

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology 1

Noun

speck (plural specks)

A tiny spot, especially of dirt etc.

A very small thing; a particle; a whit.

Synonym: Thesaurus:modicum

(fish) A small etheostomoid fish, Etheostoma stigmaeum, common in the eastern United States.

Verb

speck (third-person singular simple present specks, present participle specking, simple past and past participle specked)

(transitive) To mark with specks; to speckle.

Etymology 2

Noun

speck (uncountable)

Fat; lard; fat meat.

(uncountable) A juniper-flavoured ham originally from Tyrol.

The blubber of whales or other marine mammals.

The fat of the hippopotamus.

Anagrams

• pecks

Source: Wiktionary


Speck, n. Etym: [Cf. Icel. spik blubber, AS. spic, D. spek, G. speck.]

Definition: The blubber of whales or other marine mammals; also, the fat of the hippopotamus. Speck falls (Naut.), falls or ropes rove through blocks for hoisting the blubber and bone of whales on board a whaling vessel.

Speck, n. Etym: [OE. spekke, AS. specca; cf. LG. spaak.]

1. A small discolored place in or on anything, or a small place of a color different from that of the main substance; a spot; a stain; a blemish; as, a speck on paper or loth; specks of decay in fruit. "Gray sand, with black specks." Anson.

2. A very small thing; a particle; a mite; as, specks of dust; he has not a speck of money. Many bright specks bubble up along the blue Egean. Landor.

3. (Zoöl.)

Definition: A small etheostomoid fish (Ulocentra stigmæa) common in the Eastern United States.

Speck, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Specked; p. pr. & vb. n. Specking.]

Definition: To cause the presence of specks upon or in, especially specks regarded as defects or blemishes; to spot; to speckle; as, paper specked by impurities in the water used in its manufacture. Carnation, purple, azure, or specked with gold. Milton.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



RESET




Word of the Day

15 June 2025

SCHNORR

(verb) obtain or seek to obtain by cadging or wheedling; “he is always shnorring cigarettes from his friends”


coffee icon

Coffee Trivia

In the 16th century, Turkish women could divorce their husbands if the man failed to keep his family’s pot filled with coffee.

coffee icon