Mottled means marked with spots, blotches, or patches of different colors or shades, creating an irregular, uneven pattern. When something is mottled, it looks dappled or splotchy rather than uniform.

You might notice mottled light on the forest floor, where sunlight filters through leaves and creates a pattern of bright spots and shadows. A mottled bird's egg has irregular speckles and patches rather than a solid color. Some snakes have mottled skin with brown and tan patches that help them blend into dirt and leaves.

The word often describes natural patterns that seem random rather than organized. A person's skin might become mottled from cold, showing blotchy patches of pink and white. Old marble or stone can develop a mottled appearance over time, with darker and lighter areas mixed together.

Mottled patterns appear throughout nature because they serve important purposes: they provide camouflage, help regulate temperature, or simply result from how things grow and age. The mottled brown and gray bark of a sycamore tree, the mottled coloring of a trout, or the mottled surface of an old copper pot all show how this irregular, spotted appearance can show up in different contexts.