speck

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speck

(spĕk)

1. A small spot, mark, or discoloration.

2. A tiny amount; a bit: not a speck of truth in her story.

tr.v. specked, speck·ing, specks

To mark with specks.

[Middle English specke, from Old English specca.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

speck

(spɛk)

1. a very small mark or spot

2. a small or tiny piece of something

(tr) to mark with specks or spots

[Old English specca; related to Middle Dutch spekelen to sprinkle]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

speck

(spɛk)

n.

1. a small spot differing in color or substance from that of the surface or material upon which it appears or lies.

2. a very little bit or particle.

3. something appearing small by comparison or by reason of distance.

v.t.

4. to mark with or as if with specks.

[before 900; Old English specca; compare speckle]

speck

Past participle: specked
Gerund: specking

Imperative
speck
speck

Present
I speck
you speck
he/she/it specks
we speck
you speck
they speck

Preterite
I specked
you specked
he/she/it specked
we specked
you specked
they specked

Present Continuous
I am specking
you are specking
he/she/it is specking
we are specking
you are specking
they are specking

Present Perfect
I have specked
you have specked
he/she/it has specked
we have specked
you have specked
they have specked

Past Continuous
I was specking
you were specking
he/she/it was specking
we were specking
you were specking
they were specking

Past Perfect
I had specked
you had specked
he/she/it had specked
we had specked
you had specked
they had specked

Future
I will speck
you will speck
he/she/it will speck
we will speck
you will speck
they will speck

Future Perfect
I will have specked
you will have specked
he/she/it will have specked
we will have specked
you will have specked
they will have specked

Future Continuous
I will be specking
you will be specking
he/she/it will be specking
we will be specking
you will be specking
they will be specking

Present Perfect Continuous
I have been specking
you have been specking
he/she/it has been specking
we have been specking
you have been specking
they have been specking

Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been specking
you will have been specking
he/she/it will have been specking
we will have been specking
you will have been specking
they will have been specking

Past Perfect Continuous
I had been specking
you had been specking
he/she/it had been specking
we had been specking
you had been specking
they had been specking

Conditional
I would speck
you would speck
he/she/it would speck
we would speck
you would speck
they would speck

Past Conditional
I would have specked
you would have specked
he/she/it would have specked
we would have specked
you would have specked
they would have specked

Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Switch to new thesaurus

Noun	1.	speck - a very small spot; "the plane was just a speck in the sky" pinpoint maculation, patch, speckle, dapple, fleck, spot - a small contrasting part of something; "a bald spot"; "a leopard's spots"; "a patch of clouds"; "patches of thin ice"; "a fleck of red"
	2.	speck - (nontechnical usage) a tiny piece of anything corpuscle, mote, particle, molecule, atom grain - a relatively small granular particle of a substance; "a grain of sand"; "a grain of sugar" grinding - material resulting from the process of grinding; "vegetable grindings clogged the drain" material, stuff - the tangible substance that goes into the makeup of a physical object; "coal is a hard black material"; "wheat is the stuff they use to make bread" chylomicron - a microscopic particle of triglycerides produced in the intestines during digestion; in the bloodstream they release their fatty acids into the blood flyspeck - a tiny dark speck made by the excrement of a fly identification particle - a tiny particle of material that can be added to a product to indicate the source of manufacture
	3.	speck - a slight but appreciable amount; "this dish could use a touch of garlic" mite, soupcon, tinge, jot, hint, pinch, touch small indefinite amount, small indefinite quantity - an indefinite quantity that is below average size or magnitude snuff - a pinch of smokeless tobacco inhaled at a single time
Verb	1.	speck - produce specks in or on; "speck the cloth" mark - make or leave a mark on; "the scouts marked the trail"; "ash marked the believers' foreheads"

speck

noun

1. mark, spot, dot, stain, blot, fleck, speckle, mote There is a speck of blood by his ear.

2. particle, bit, grain, dot, atom, shred, mite, jot, modicum, whit, tittle, iota He leaned forward and brushed a speck of dust off his shoes.

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

speck

noun

1. A very small mark:

dash, dot, fleck, pinpoint, point, spot.

2. A tiny amount:

bit, crumb, dab, dash, dot, dram, drop, fragment, grain, iota, jot, minim, mite, modicum, molecule, ort, ounce, particle, scrap, scruple, shred, smidgen, tittle, trifle, whit.

Chiefly British: spot.

verb

To mark with many small spots:

bespeckle, besprinkle, dapple, dot, fleck, freckle, mottle, pepper, speckle, sprinkle, stipple.

Translations

بُقْعَه، لَطْخَهذَرَّه

skvrnkasmítko

fnugpletstænk

Fleckchen Stückchen

grain graine pépin

bletturögn

chiazza macchiolina

dėmelėdulkelėšapelistaškelis

drumsladrupataplankumsputeklītistraips

søleskvett

fliačikškvrnka

drobec

çok ufak parçaminicik lekezerre

微粒污点

speck

[spek]

A. N

1. (= small stain) → pequeña mancha f

2. (= particle) [of dust] → mota f

3. (= dot, point) → punto m
it's just a speck on the horizon → es un punto en el horizonte nada más

4. (= small portion) → pizca f
there's not a speck of truth in it → no tiene ni pizca de verdad
just a speck, thanks → un poquitín, gracias

B. VT = speckle

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

speck

[ˈspɛk] n

[dirt, mud, blood, ink] → petite tache f

[dust, soot] → grain m

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

speck

n → Fleck m; (of blood, paint, mud also) → Spritzer m; (of dust) → Körnchen nt; (of soot) → Flocke f, → Flöckchen nt; (of gold, colour etc) → Sprenkel m; (= small portion, of drink etc) → Tropfen m, → Tröpfchen nt; (of sugar, butter) → kleines bisschen; (fig, of truth, confidence) → Fünkchen nt, → Quäntchen nt; a speck on the horizon → ein Punkt m → or Pünktchen nt → am Horizont

vt to be specked with black → schwarze Fleckchen haben; (bird, eyes etc) → schwarz gesprenkelt sein; his face was specked with dirt → er hatte Schmutzflecken im Gesicht; to be specked with blood → blutbespritzt sein

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

speck

[spɛk] n (of dust, dirt) → granello; (of ink, paint) → macchiolina, puntino
it was just a speck on the horizon → era solo un puntino all'orizzonte

speck

(spek) noun

1. a small spot or stain. a speck of ink.

2. a tiny piece (eg of dust).

speck

n. mácula, mancha.

Mentioned in ?

References in classic literature ?

In the blue vault of the heaven there had appeared three little specks which increased in size every moment, so rapidly did they approach.

View in context

It is something to squander and throw to the four winds, for the fun of seeing the golden specks fly."

View in context

You will get a better idea of the magnitude of the sidereal system, however, by remembering that, in comparison with it, the distances of our entire solar system are as mere specks. Thus, while our own change of positions is known to embrace an orbit of about 200,000,000 of miles, it is nevertheless so trifling as to produce no apparent change of position in thousands of the fixed stars that are believed to be the suns of other systems.

View in context

And when no specks at all were found in several pans, he straightened up and favored the hillside with a confident glance.

View in context

Far away, across the meadows, they could now see two tiny specks, speeding one after the other; and they knew these specks must be the Griffin and the Saw-Horse.

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A bugle note was heard, and a cluster of black specks was distinguishable against the snows of the upper heights.

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The little group of black specks with the flag of white had been swept out of existence, and the stillness of the evening, so it seemed to me, had scarcely been broken.

View in context

The next day there were very few ships in sight from our mast-heads - seven at most, perhaps, with a few more distant specks, hull down, beyond the magic ring of the horizon.

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"That will be a long time in which to be isolated upon a savage little speck of land off the larger but no less savage Borneo.

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His eyes were fixed upon a black speck at the end of the level roadway which led to the Tower.

View in context

Then there came a black speck stealing across the broad rice-field and up the steep hill, a speck which in time took to itself the semblance of a man, a Kru boy, naked as he was born save for a ragged loin-cloth, and clutching something in his hand.

View in context

You call yourself the All in All, but you are the Nothing: your so-called Universe is a mere speck in a Line, and a Line is a mere shadow as compared with --" "Hush, hush, you have said enough," interrupted the Sphere, "now listen, and mark the effect of your harangue on the King of Pointland."

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