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
In the 1996 film Twister, storm chasers played by Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton sacrifice nearly everything to let loose swarms of data-collecting motes that get sucked up into a tornado and beam data back.
—
IEEE Spectrum, 17 Aug. 2023
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
The world’s smallest battery is smaller than a dust mote.
—Joshua Hawkins, BGR, 1 Mar. 2022
How lonely, and how far away everything is compared to that mote of dust.
—NBC News, 22 July 2021
See All Example Sentences for mote
IEEE Spectrum, 17 Aug. 2023
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
The world’s smallest battery is smaller than a dust mote.
—Joshua Hawkins, BGR, 1 Mar. 2022
How lonely, and how far away everything is compared to that mote of dust.
—NBC News, 22 July 2021
See All Example Sentences for mote
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mote
Noun
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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
-
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
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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
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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
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With Clarke coming into Casa, things just clicked a little bit more easily, and things gelled together with them more.—
Leia Mendoza,
Variety,
12 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
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However, unlike shipping’s tonnage reports, the amount of grain moved by rail is not public.—
Shelley Nelson,
Twin Cities,
12 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Mote.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mote. Accessed 18 Jul. 2025.
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