as in speck
a very small piece
surreptitiously removed a flyspeck of dirt from the china
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Recent Examples of flyspeck
That’s a flyspeck in a galaxy that measures 100,000 light years across and a universe that is a staggering 94 billion light years.
—
Jeffrey Kluger, Time, 21 Dec. 2022
Sooty blotch looks like a brown or black blotch on the fruit; sooty blotch, unlike flyspeck, will wipe off the fruit.
—Megan Hughes, Better Homes & Gardens, 2 June 2022
Travelers jumping into the West Texas badlands from Mexico through Candelaria, a flyspeck village 50 miles up two-lane blacktop northwest of Presidio, might be deceived by the prevailing verdant quiet.
—Dudley Althaus, San Antonio Express-News, 26 June 2021
To those who grew up with Duncan in the U.S. Virgin Islands, their friend’s voyage from a picturesque flyspeck in the middle of the ocean to the basketball Hall of Fame was equal parts preordained and inconceivable.
—Jeff McDonald, San Antonio Express-News, 14 May 2021
But with a thousand islands scattered along their country’s jade-green Adriatic coast, from deserted flyspecks to hipster outposts, there’s no shortage of places to lick one’s wounds—or bask in silver-medal glory.
—Anja Mutić, WSJ, 19 July 2018
That is why presidential candidates hire squads of lawyers to flyspeck donations during a campaign.
—The Editorial Board, WSJ, 3 May 2018
Compared to this, Comcast is a flyspeck, and Charter hasn’t even gotten started.
—David Dayen, The New Republic, 30 Apr. 2018
Amid these forces, Fed rate hikes are a relative flyspeck, says Doug Duncan, chief economist of Fannie Mae.
—Paul Davidson, USA TODAY, 14 June 2017
Jeffrey Kluger, Time, 21 Dec. 2022
Sooty blotch looks like a brown or black blotch on the fruit; sooty blotch, unlike flyspeck, will wipe off the fruit.
—Megan Hughes, Better Homes & Gardens, 2 June 2022
Travelers jumping into the West Texas badlands from Mexico through Candelaria, a flyspeck village 50 miles up two-lane blacktop northwest of Presidio, might be deceived by the prevailing verdant quiet.
—Dudley Althaus, San Antonio Express-News, 26 June 2021
To those who grew up with Duncan in the U.S. Virgin Islands, their friend’s voyage from a picturesque flyspeck in the middle of the ocean to the basketball Hall of Fame was equal parts preordained and inconceivable.
—Jeff McDonald, San Antonio Express-News, 14 May 2021
But with a thousand islands scattered along their country’s jade-green Adriatic coast, from deserted flyspecks to hipster outposts, there’s no shortage of places to lick one’s wounds—or bask in silver-medal glory.
—Anja Mutić, WSJ, 19 July 2018
That is why presidential candidates hire squads of lawyers to flyspeck donations during a campaign.
—The Editorial Board, WSJ, 3 May 2018
Compared to this, Comcast is a flyspeck, and Charter hasn’t even gotten started.
—David Dayen, The New Republic, 30 Apr. 2018
Amid these forces, Fed rate hikes are a relative flyspeck, says Doug Duncan, chief economist of Fannie Mae.
—Paul Davidson, USA TODAY, 14 June 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for flyspeck
Noun
-
Maxine was a once little bitty speck of a thing who had a pretty rough start in life.—
TJ Macias,
Kansas City Star,
27 June 2025
-
All told, the specks of light captured in the image showcase about 10 million galaxies, or just 0.05% of the roughly 20 billion galaxies Rubin will image in the next decade.—
Eric Lagatta,
USA Today,
25 June 2025
Noun
-
In any case, there are sure to be at least a few flecks of moss or lichen, gray or gray-green, on that side.—
Ted Updike,
Outdoor Life,
22 May 2025
-
The workmanship shows in the color and precision of the grout, the mottling of dark flecks, and the triangular pieces where the arches meet — details that give the façade a subliminal liveliness.—
Justin Davidson,
Curbed,
5 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
The bit sees Mister Terrific (Edi Gathegi) getting frustrated with the Man of Steel for pointing out that a building in Metropolis looks eschewed.—
EW.com,
EW.com,
12 July 2025
-
Runners-up in that Royal Box race for best-hair-on-a-couple are Louis Partridge and Olivia Rodrigo, who manage to look spanking fresh and somehow, just that little bit more relaxed and at home than Mr. and Mrs. Jonas.—
Guy Martin,
Forbes.com,
12 July 2025
Noun
-
Kaiser consistently said that the particles were harmless, inert material dislodged by a malfunctioning water heater that was not infectious.—
Paul Sisson,
Mercury News,
10 July 2025
-
The unit is also equipped with a Clean Sense IQ monitor, which will keep track of any extra particles.—
Yelena Moroz Alpert,
Architectural Digest,
9 July 2025
Noun
-
Her eyes were always moist, with dark patches underneath.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
11 July 2025
-
Beneath a cloudy sky with patches of sunlight, families prayed and sang Christian worship songs with outstretched arms.—
NBC News,
NBC news,
10 July 2025
Noun
-
Wilkerson was everywhere, her touches seemingly as numerous as the grains of sand beneath her feet.—
Devon Henderson,
Oc Register,
13 July 2025
-
Given that a coherent press is designed to push the in-possession team in a certain direction, going against the grain means that the opposition’s momentum is halted and — as the above examples show — that press is subsequently broken.—
Mark Carey,
New York Times,
12 July 2025
Noun
-
Kimmel said the country has an oversupply domestically of scrap metal, if U.S. companies cannot export.—
Susan Tompor,
Freep.com,
3 July 2025
-
That technical change increases the likelihood that a congregation of a tumbledown church might raise the money to unlock more housing and at the same time fix up their building — without simply selling it for scrap.—
Justin Davidson,
Curbed,
27 June 2025
Noun
-
Episodes are often framed by Sarah Jessica Parker’s voiceover, in a callback to SATC’s quippy narration, reading snippets of the novel that mirror her character’s own life.—
Judy Berman,
Time,
11 July 2025
-
People would be watching a regular movie and not realize that snippets of messages had been inserted into the film, flashing by at a rate so fast that the conscious perception cannot readily distinguish them.—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes.com,
6 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Flyspeck.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/flyspeck. Accessed 19 Jul. 2025.
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