as in speck
a very small piece
there's not a mote of dirt in that woman's house
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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
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
Noun
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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
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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
Noun
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That’s due to high energy particles spiraling in the galactic magnetic field and emitting enormous amounts of radiation, Hibbard says.—
Bruce Dorminey,
Forbes,
22 Mar. 2025
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Vacuum energy describes the density of particles popping in and out of existence.—
Robert Lea,
Space.com,
20 Mar. 2025
Noun
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Normally, landing a star of Dončić’s caliber at such a young age would take every fleck of gold in the safe.—
C. Clark, M. Vorkunov and F. Katz,
The Athletic,
17 Feb. 2025
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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
Noun
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Because one commissioner is chomping at the bit to raise the current 25-foot building height limit there.—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board,
Sun Sentinel,
26 Mar. 2025
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That's a lot of money up front for a little bit of oil.—
Camila Domonoske,
NPR,
26 Mar. 2025
Noun
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Related article Move better and sidestep injury with the side lunge McGregor suggests other small changes, too, including eating vegetables several times a day, basing meals around whole grains and having a handful of nuts each day.—
Julianna Bragg,
CNN Money,
28 Mar. 2025
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The Monday talks appeared to focus on a maritime ceasefire deal covering the Black Sea — one of the focal points for hostilities during the war, which led to disruption in the shipping of regional agricultural and grain exports that caused turmoil in global supply chains.—
Holly Ellyatt,
CNBC,
25 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Mote.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mote. Accessed 1 Apr. 2025.
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