A speckle is a small spot or mark, usually one of many scattered across a surface. Bird eggs often have speckles: tiny dots of brown or black scattered across a pale blue or cream-colored shell. A speckled banana has little brown spots developing on its yellow skin as it ripens.

Speckles differ from other kinds of spots. They're typically small, numerous, and randomly distributed rather than appearing in a pattern. A dalmatian has large black spots, but a brown trout has countless tiny speckles covering its body. The night sky appears speckled with stars.

The word can work as a verb too. If you accidentally speckle your art project with paint, you've gotten little drops scattered where they might not belong. Freckles speckle some people's faces and arms, especially after time in the sun. When you see something described as speckled, picture a surface dotted with many small marks, like someone flicked a paintbrush and sent tiny droplets everywhere.