# speck

> English word · Noun · IPA /spɛk/ · frequency rank #28,382

## Definitions
1. A tiny spot or particle, especially of dirt.
2. A very small amount; a particle; a whit.
3. A small etheostomoid fish, Etheostoma stigmaeum, common in the eastern United States.

## Etymology
From Middle English spekke, from Old English specca (“small spot, stain”), from the same ultimate source as Proto-Germanic *sprakô (“spark”). Cognate with Low German spaken (“to spot with wet”).

## Easily confused with
- **suck** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/speck-vs-suck)
- **sped** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/speck-vs-sped)
- **spew** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/speck-vs-spew)
- **spent** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/speck-vs-spent)
- **speed** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/speck-vs-speed)
- **spend** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/speck-vs-spend)
- **stock** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/speck-vs-stock)
- **stick** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/speck-vs-stick)
- **stuck** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/speck-vs-stuck)
- **spell** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/speck-vs-spell)
- **stack** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/speck-vs-stack)
- **steak** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/speck-vs-steak)
- **spice** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/speck-vs-spice)
- **sperm** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/speck-vs-sperm)
- **spicy** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/speck-vs-spicy)
- **specs** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/speck-vs-specs)
- **spelt** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/speck-vs-spelt)
- **Spock** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/speck-vs-spock)
- **spook** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/speck-vs-spook)
- **speer** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/speck-vs-speer)

## Common misspellings (8)
`pseck`, `sepck`, `spcek`, `specck`, `speckk`, `spekc`, `sppeck`, `sspeck`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/speck