mote

noun

ˈmōt How to pronounce mote (audio)
Definition of motenext
as in speck
a very small piece there's not a mote of dirt in that woman's house

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of mote The dancing of a dust mote in a shaft of sunlight betrays the complex motions of unseen air molecules, and the emission of a photon or radioactive decay of a nucleus is analogous, Einstein figured. — George Musser, Scientific American, 1 Sep. 2015 T’Challa’s coffin, carried by its team of all-woman warrior pallbearers—including Danai Gurira’s Okoye, showing nothing but betraying every mote of sorrow even so—is eventually relinquished to the sky, where it’s subsumed into a triangular ceremonial object and whisked off, gone forever. — Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 8 Nov. 2022 And jab your holy finger at my mote? — Eric Chevlen, National Review, 12 Nov. 2020 Humans sitting on a tiny little mote of a planet in a hostile void worked collaboratively over many years to create incredible instruments capable of gathering photons of light emitted from a nebula 5,500 years ago. — Tom Yulsman, Discover Magazine, 26 Dec. 2016 See All Example Sentences for mote
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mote
  1. speck
  2. particle
  3. fleck
  4. bit
  5. grain
Noun
  • This obviously means piece of peach or speck of fish or smear of hotness — but in French, therefore classy.
    — Heather Havrilesky, New York Times, 22 Feb. 2025
  • The moon appears incredibly large in the foreground of the image since it is located much closer to Earth than Saturn, the sixth planet from the sun, which, by comparison, appears as nearly a speck behind the prominent natural satellite.
    — Samantha Mathewson, Space.com, 15 Jan. 2025
Definition of speck
Noun
  • Microplastics are plastic particles smaller than five millimeters.
    — Bill Frist, Forbes, 13 Mar. 2025
  • The agency will also revisit rules such as water pollution limits for coal plants, air quality standards for small particles and the mandatory reporting of greenhouse gas emissions by large emitters like oil and gas companies.
    — Elizabeth Robinson, NBC News, 13 Mar. 2025
Definition of particle
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
Definition of fleck
Noun
  • That is unique to our show, and did inform a little bit of not knowing what’s going on in Lumon.
    — Matt Minton, Variety, 14 Mar. 2025
  • But, right after the speech, somebody kept a little bit of the board un-wiped to preserve it, while, someone else rushed to the board and took away the piece of chalk that Einstein had used for his writing.
    — Somayeh Malekian, ABC News, 14 Mar. 2025
Definition of bit
Noun
  • Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal have retired and Djokovic’s sand timer is running out of grain.
    — Tim Ellis, Forbes, 16 Mar. 2025
  • Its 14-bit raw DNG images provide the most leeway to edit color and exposure in the lower register (ISO 100-3200), as well as the least amount of luminance noise, the digital version of film grain.
    — PCMAG, PCMAG, 14 Mar. 2025
Definition of grain

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“Mote.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mote. Accessed 24 Mar. 2025.

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