Spec or speck?
spec is a verb meaning “To specify, especially in a formal specification document”; speck is a noun meaning “A tiny spot or particle, especially of dirt”. Use spec as a verb and speck as a noun (speck is also a verb: “To mark with specks; to speckle”). They sound the same (/ˈspɛk/). In written English (wordfreq, 2021 data) spec is about 3.7 times as common as speck.
What is the difference between spec and speck?
| spec | speck | |
|---|---|---|
| Part of speech | noun, verb, adjective, adverb | noun, verb |
| Meaning | To specify, especially in a formal specification document A species designated as of conservation concern according to this classification scheme | A tiny spot or particle, especially of dirt A very small amount; a particle; a whit To mark with specks; to speckle |
| Example | job spec | a tiny speck of soot |
| Forms | specs, speccing, spec'ing, specced, spec'd | specks |
| Pronunciation | /ˈspɛk/ | /spɛk/ |
| In writing | 3.9 times per million words | 1.0 times per million words |
Sources: spec and speck in the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Every current meaning of spec and speck
spec
- 1
colloquialClipping of specification
job spec
- 2
To specify, especially in a formal specification document
- 3
Clipping of special
- 4
Abbreviation of species
- 5
Abbreviation of special
- 6
Abbreviation of specifically
- 7
Initialism of Species of European Conservation Concern
- 8
colloquialClipping of speculation
speck
- 1
A tiny spot or particle, especially of dirt
a tiny speck of soot
- 2
To mark with specks; to speckle
paper specked by impurities in the water used in its manufacture
- 3
Fat; lard; fat meat
- 4
A very small amount; a particle; a whit
He has not a speck of money
- 5
A juniper-flavoured ham originally from Tyrol
- 6
A small etheostomoid fish, Etheostoma stigmaeum, common in the eastern United States
- 7
The blubber of whales or other marine mammals
- 8
The fat of the hippopotamus
Source: the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); obsolete, archaic, dialect and rare senses left out.
Which is more common, spec or speck?
spec appears 3.9 times per million words; speck 1.0 times per million words.
spec 3.9 times per million wordsspeck 1.0 times per million words
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How many people search spec vs speck?
“spec vs speck” is searched about 50 times a month on Google and 10 on Bing in the United States. Google counts close variants of a query together (“speck vs spec”, “spec or speck”).
Sources: Google Ads keyword data through DataForSEO and Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, the average month from September 2025 to August 2026.