spotty

adjective

spot·​ty ˈspä-tē How to pronounce spotty (audio)
spottier; spottiest
Synonyms of spottynext
1
: marked with spots : spotted
2
: lacking uniformity especially in quality
the performance was spotty
also : irregularly or sparsely distributed
spotty attendance
spotty data
spottily
ˈspä-tə-lē How to pronounce spotty (audio)
adverb
spottiness
ˈspä-tē-nəs How to pronounce spotty (audio)
noun

Synonyms of spotty

Relevance
See All Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus

Examples of spotty in a Sentence

Her work has been spotty. The service at that restaurant is a little spotty. students with spotty attendance records
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The flood threat from Western Texas to southwest Kansas is expected to start winding down Monday, but some spotty flooding is still possible. — ABC News, 25 Oct. 2026 Warmer temperatures and spotty showers Thursday Thursday morning started relatively quiet across South Florida, although a few showers developed in Broward, including near Oakland Park and Ferncrest Village. — Lissette Gonzalez, CBS News, 22 Oct. 2026 Even without hard blocks, agents’ access to retailers is spotty. — Mia Sato, The Verge, 22 Oct. 2026 Although the heaviest rain is over, according to meteorologists with the National Weather Service, people across the Southwest can expect spotty rain and high tides for the next couple of days. — Fedor Zarkhin, Los Angeles Times, 11 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for spotty

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of spotty was in the 14th century

Rhymes for spotty

See All Rhymes for spotty

Browse Nearby Words

spottle
spotty
spot up
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

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

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

spotty

adjective
spot·​ty ˈspät-ē How to pronounce spotty (audio)
spottier; spottiest
1
: having spots
2
: not always the same especially in quality
your work has been spotty
spottily
ˈspät-ᵊl-ē How to pronounce spotty (audio)
adverb
spottiness
ˈspät-ē-nəs How to pronounce spotty (audio)
noun
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of milieu

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Why do we 'bury the lede?'

'Za' and 9 Other Words to Help You Win at SCRABBLE
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
different halloween monsters in silhouette
A Monstrous Vocab Quiz Words That Go Bump in the Night
See All