mote

1 of 2

noun

ˈmōt How to pronounce mote (audio)
Synonyms of mote
: a small particle : speck entry 1
… motes danced in the shafts of sunlight …—Margaret Kennedy

mote

2 of 2

auxiliary verb

archaic
: may, might

Synonyms of mote

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Noun

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Examples of mote in a Sentence

Noun there's not a mote of dirt in that woman's house
Recent Examples on the Web
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Noun
But director Lance Oppenheim and his DP David Bolen shot the luxe rentals of You Can See Everything with very little artificial light, on actual film, which shows every crack and dust mote. — Adriane Quinlan, Curbed, 23 Oct. 2026 Tiny bugs float in the sun like dust motes, and there are graceful flies large enough to require a runway landing. — John Metcalfe, Mercury News, 4 May 2026 Sunbeams through the windows illuminate floating dust motes—and, imperceptibly, microdroplets of mucus carrying the measles virus, expelled from an infected but asymptomatic child who is hopping and laughing among the others. — Elizabeth Bruenig, The Atlantic, 12 Feb. 2026 Easily swept up by wind and carried long distances by water, these tiny motes are also exceedingly difficult to detect and almost impossible to remove from the environment. — K. R. Callaway, Scientific American, 22 Jan. 2026 See All Example Sentences for mote

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English mot, from Old English; akin to Middle Dutch & Frisian mot sand

Auxiliary verb

Middle English, from Old English mōtan to be allowed to — more at must

First Known Use

Noun

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above

Auxiliary Verb

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of mote was before the 12th century

Rhymes for mote

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Browse Nearby Words

Motacillidae
mote
moted
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Cite this Entry

“Mote.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mote. Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.

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Kids Definition

mote

noun
ˈmōt
: a small particle : speck
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