fleck

1 of 2

verb

flecked; flecking; flecks

transitive verb

1
: streak, spot
whitecaps flecked the blue sea
2
: to color as if by sprinkling with flecks
his wit is flecked with sarcasmJames Atlas

fleck

2 of 2

noun

1
: spot, mark
a brown tweed with flecks of yellow
2
: flake, particle
flecks of snow drifted down

Examples of fleck in a Sentence

Verb She flecked the canvas with blue paint. to achieve the desired effect, fleck the canvas with paint simply by flicking the brush close to the surface Noun a brown cloth with flecks of yellow The police found flecks of blood on his clothes.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Verb
Shilpa lovingly stroked cloth flecked with gold that clocked in at 380 euros a meter, and visualized the shawl that could be made from it. Gary Shteyngart, The Atlantic, 7 Feb. 2025 Image But the quality is dubious: smelly, cloudy and flecked with debris. Abu Bakr Bashir, New York Times, 28 Dec. 2024
Noun
Tips and Tricks: During this event, the moon will begin to travel in front of the Pleiades stars around 11 P.M. Eastern Time, concealing several of the blueish flecks as the night goes on. Stephanie Vermillion, Outside Online, 13 Feb. 2025 Once the snowmelt begins and flecks of greenery emerge from the powder, many skiers assume the party’s over. Miles Howard, AFAR Media, 6 Feb. 2025 See All Example Sentences for fleck

Word History

Etymology

Verb

back-formation from flecked spotted, from Middle English; akin to Old High German flec spot, Old Norse flekkr

First Known Use

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

1598, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of fleck was in the 14th century

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Fleck.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fleck. Accessed 15 Mar. 2025.

Kids Definition

fleck

1 of 2 verb

fleck

2 of 2 noun

More from Merriam-Webster on fleck

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