mote

Meanings

1. 1nouncountableliterary

   A very small speck, usually of dust, that is seen drifting in a beam of light.

   Grammar: Often followed by of dust: a mote of dust.

   Patterns

   • a mote of dust
   • a mote in the air

   Motes of dust floated in the sunlight coming through the window.

   She brushed a mote from her sleeve.

   The attic was quiet except for the motes drifting through the light.

2. 2nouncountablefigurativeliterary

   A tiny amount or trace of something, especially a small fault.

   Grammar: Often used in the saying about the mote in someone else's eye.

   Patterns

   • a mote of something
   • the mote in someone's eye

   He criticized the mote in his neighbor's eye while ignoring his own faults.

   There was not a mote of doubt in her voice.

   The report found only a mote of truth in the claim.

Word forms

Common combinations

mote of dust

A single mote of dust hung in the beam of light.

dancing motes

Dancing motes filled the attic air.

mote in the eye

It is easy to spot the mote in a friend's eye.

floating motes

The child watched the floating motes in the afternoon sun.

golden motes

Golden motes swirled through the old library.

Synonyms and how they differ

speck

Speck is the everyday word for any small spot or particle, while mote is more poetic and mostly means something floating in light.

particle

Particle is a technical or scientific term for a small piece of matter, so it sounds less poetic than mote.

fleck

Fleck describes a small mark or spot on a surface, not something drifting in air.

grain

Grain describes a small hard piece such as sand, whereas mote suggests something lighter and airborne.

Commonly confused: mote or moat? mote or moot?

Practice

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