motes

noun

plural of mote
as in specks
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 motes Tiny bugs float in the sun like dust motes, and there are graceful flies large enough to require a runway landing. — John Metcalfe, Mercury News, 4 May 2026 Sunbeams through the windows illuminate floating dust motes—and, imperceptibly, microdroplets of mucus carrying the measles virus, expelled from an infected but asymptomatic child who is hopping and laughing among the others. — Elizabeth Bruenig, The Atlantic, 12 Feb. 2026 Easily swept up by wind and carried long distances by water, these tiny motes are also exceedingly difficult to detect and almost impossible to remove from the environment. — K. R. Callaway, Scientific American, 22 Jan. 2026 There’s a Gambit-adjacent one that has players depositing motes while killing other teams. — Paul Tassi, Forbes.com, 30 Aug. 2025 The sensors’ small size allows seamless integration into almost any environment, while the wireless, modular design lets motes be added or removed as needed depending on the application. — Georgina Jedikovska, Interesting Engineering, 6 Aug. 2025 Powering and recording signals from multiple motes will require new techniques and better signal processing. — Eliza Strickland, IEEE Spectrum, 21 Oct. 2016
Recent Examples of Synonyms for motes
  1. specks
  2. particles
  3. flecks
  4. bits
  5. grains
  6. patches
  7. molecules
  8. scraps
Noun
  • Pay close attention to where leaves meet the stem, the underside of leaves, and within the petals for any movement or tiny specks.
    — Jamie Cuccinelli, Martha Stewart, 4 Aug. 2026
  • The specks of dirt on the screen, that’s a byproduct of the process that Imax projectors use to advance the frames.
    — Chris Stanton, Vulture, 3 Aug. 2026
Definition of specks
Noun
  • Some participants chose vials with liquid to dissolve the semaglutide powder that were expired, had floating particles in them or were cloudy.
    — C. Michael White, The Conversation, 7 Aug. 2026
  • Radioactive Planet Neutrinos are the most abundant of all the particles that have mass.
    — James Dinneen, Quanta Magazine, 7 Aug. 2026
Definition of particles
Noun
  • Little flecks of roasted sweet potato pepper the cake, and a tangy cream cheese glaze is a perfect complement to the warm spices and crunchy topping.
    — Alana Al-Hatlani, Southern Living, 8 Aug. 2026
  • One image of her right knee showed flecks of blue plastic that prosecutors said came from an inflatable pool Burke used to collect blood while dismembering her body.
    — Nancy Dillon, Rolling Stone, 21 July 2026
Definition of flecks
Noun
  • The full-bodied physicality with which delas Alas imbues her performance turns such punishingly poignant bits into the stuff of boisterous spectacle.
    — Lé Baltar, IndieWire, 13 Aug. 2026
  • The yoke-like steering features hammered aluminum bits, referencing the armor worn by medieval knights.
    — Abhimanyu Ghoshal, New Atlas, 13 Aug. 2026
Definition of bits
Noun
  • To make this gluten-free, replace the couscous with 1 1/2 cups cooked rice or quinoa, or skip the grains entirely and stir in 2 cups cauliflower rice with the peppers and beef.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 10 Aug. 2026
  • Mai is propagating more than 170 varieties collected from refugees around the world, helping preserve these precious grains while studying which are best suited to our changing climate.
    — Laura Mclively, Mercury News, 6 Aug. 2026
Definition of grains
Noun
  • Luggage tags and monogram patches are available in 21 colours.
    — Kate Hardcastle, Forbes.com, 13 Aug. 2026
  • Crucially, Marvel Tokon backs up its eye candy with a solid game (even if patches are required to fix iffy PC performance).
    — Jordan Minor, PC Magazine, 11 Aug. 2026
Definition of patches
Noun
  • Changing these printing conditions caused the molecules to align in one of two perpendicular directions.
    — Georgina Jedikovska, Interesting Engineering, 12 Aug. 2026
  • High temperatures cause air molecules to spread farther apart, making the air less dense or thinner.
    — Emma Balleste, CNN Money, 12 Aug. 2026
Definition of molecules
Noun
  • Take one scroll through his Instagram account, which shows off photos of trotters (pig feet) stuffed with sweetbreads (animal pancreas) and Alsatian headcheese (a mold made of pig scraps, usually from the animal’s head).
    — Katelyn Umholtz, Kansas City Star, 11 Aug. 2026
  • On Monday, compostable cups, cutlery and bin liners were mixed in with a delivery of food scraps and lobster shells.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of scraps

Browse Nearby Words

motels
motes
motet
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Motes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/motes. Accessed 15 Aug. 2026.

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