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speck

noun · verb

Simple meaning

A very small amount.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

spehk
US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈspɛk

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

  1. A very small amount; a particle; a whit.

  2. A very small spot

    “The plane was just a speck in the sky.”

  3. A tiny spot or particle, especially of dirt.

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

  5. The fat of the hippopotamus.

  6. Fat; lard; fat meat.

verb

  1. Produce specks in or on

  2. transitive

    To mark with specks; to speckle.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
C1 · Advanced
Frequency
Uncommon
Typical Use
Primarily written

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: A small etheostomoid fish, Etheostoma stigmaeum, common in the eastern United States.

Used this way, speck is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It stays understated rather than dramatic. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Mild
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
Matter-of-fact
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use speck

  • “The plane was just a speck in the sky.”noun

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

Small

mere specksmall speckminute speck

Other combinations

black speckwhite speckdark specksingle speckfrank speck

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Similar Words, What’s the Difference?

Close in meaning, but not always interchangeable.

  • atom

    A very small amount; a whit.

  • touch

    A little bit; a small amount.

  • jot

    A small, or the smallest, amount of a thing.

  • pinch

    The action of squeezing a small amount of a person's skin and flesh, making it hurt.

  • hint

    A small, barely detectable amount.

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

Sense: very small amount

moteArchaic

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.