1
: a small spot : speck entry 1
2
: a small round mark: such as
a(1)
: a small point made with a pointed instrument
a dot on the chart marked the ship's position
(2)
: a small round mark used in orthography or punctuation
put a dot over the i
b
: a centered point used as a multiplication sign (as in 6 · 5 = 30)
c(1)
: a point after a note or rest in music indicating augmentation of the time value by one half
(2)
: a point over or under a note indicating that it is to be played staccato
3
: a precise point especially in time
arrived at six on the dot
4
: a short click or buzz forming a letter or part of a letter (as in the Morse code)
5
: a point used to separate components of an address on the Internet
dotted; dotting
1
: to mark with a dot
2
: to intersperse with dots or objects scattered at random
boats dotting the lake
: to make a dot
dotter
noun
Department of Transportation
Examples of dot in a Sentence
Noun (1)
there was just a dot on the tablecloth where the food had spattered
Verb
Don't forget to dot the i.
Quaint cottages dot the countryside.
The fields were dotted with wildflowers.
Dot the cream all over your face.
Recent Examples on the Web
Eli Amdur, Forbes, 28 Feb. 2025
Modernist structures designed by architects with recognizable names like Frank Lloyd Wright, Louis Kahn and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe dot the United States.
—Buffy Gorrilla, NPR, 28 Feb. 2025
Corinne Purtill, Los Angeles Times, 2 Mar. 2025
Graffiti, street stickers, and paintings dot the streets, suggesting that millions of Berliners bike through an invisible Fourth Reich that is rising all around them.
—Timothy Nerozzi, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 28 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for dot
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Noun
What bothers me are the many dots farther away from the center that are harder to connect.
—Eli Amdur, Forbes, 28 Feb. 2025
Modernist structures designed by architects with recognizable names like Frank Lloyd Wright, Louis Kahn and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe dot the United States.
—Buffy Gorrilla, NPR, 28 Feb. 2025
Verb
Blackened vegetation dotted the hillsides rising above Pacific Coast Highway.
—Corinne Purtill, Los Angeles Times, 2 Mar. 2025
Graffiti, street stickers, and paintings dot the streets, suggesting that millions of Berliners bike through an invisible Fourth Reich that is rising all around them.
—Timothy Nerozzi, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 28 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for dot
Articles Related to dot
Cite this Entry
“Dot.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dot. Accessed 13 Mar. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
dot
1 of 2 noun1
: a small spot : speck
2
: a small round mark made with or as if with a pen: as
a
: a point after a note or rest in music indicating increase of the time value by one half
b
: a centered dot · used as a sign of multiplication
3
: an exact point in time or space
arrived at six on the dot
4
: a short click or buzz forming a letter or part of a letter (as in the Morse code)
dot
2 of 2 verb
dotted; dotting
1
: to mark with a dot
dot an "i"
2
: to cover with or as if with dots
green buds dotted the branches
dotter
noun
Medical Definition
dot
noun
: a small spot or speck see maurer's dots, schuffner's dots
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