dot

1 of 4

noun (1)

1
: a small spot : speck entry 1
2
: a small round mark: such as
a(1)
: a small point made with a pointed instrument
a dot on the chart marked the ship's position
(2)
: a small round mark used in orthography or punctuation
put a dot over the i
b
: a centered point used as a multiplication sign (as in 6 · 5 = 30)
c(1)
: a point after a note or rest in music indicating augmentation of the time value by one half
(2)
: a point over or under a note indicating that it is to be played staccato
3
: a precise point especially in time
arrived at six on the dot
4
: a short click or buzz forming a letter or part of a letter (as in the Morse code)
5
: a point used to separate components of an address on the Internet

dot

2 of 4

verb

dotted; dotting

transitive verb

1
: to mark with a dot
2
: to intersperse with dots or objects scattered at random
boats dotting the lake

intransitive verb

: to make a dot
dotter noun

dot

3 of 4

noun (2)

DOT

4 of 4

abbreviation

Department of Transportation

Examples of dot in a Sentence

Noun (1) there was just a dot on the tablecloth where the food had spattered Verb Don't forget to dot the i. Quaint cottages dot the countryside. The fields were dotted with wildflowers. Dot the cream all over your face.
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Republicans Respond With Red State Signs In response to the blue dot wave, Republicans began staking red dot yard signs, one sporting a shock of blond Trumpian hair. R. Daniel Foster, Forbes, 26 Oct. 2024 Climate, vocal folds, and tonal languages: Connecting the physiological and geographic dots Frontiers in Psychology. Avery Hurt, Discover Magazine, 23 Oct. 2024
Verb
On the road leading to the Mitchells’ farm, McGraw campaign signs dotted the landscape, an unsurprising sight in the heavily Republican rural area. Dan Petrella, Chicago Tribune, 27 Oct. 2024 Row houses and modern mid-rises also dot the area, including Laconia Lofts, a five-story landmark building where a modern penthouse has been added to the market with a $6.19 million price tag. Demetrius Simms, Robb Report, 24 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for dot 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'dot.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Middle English *dot, from Old English dott head of a boil; akin to Old High German tutta nipple

Noun (2)

French, from Latin dot-, dos dowry

First Known Use

Noun (1)

1596, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

circa 1740, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Noun (2)

1822, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of dot was in 1596

Dictionary Entries Near dot

Cite this Entry

“Dot.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dot. Accessed 31 Oct. 2024.

Kids Definition

dot

1 of 2 noun
1
: a small spot : speck
2
: a small round mark made with or as if with a pen: as
a
: a point after a note or rest in music indicating increase of the time value by one half
b
: a centered dot · used as a sign of multiplication
3
: an exact point in time or space
arrived at six on the dot
4
: a short click or buzz forming a letter or part of a letter (as in the Morse code)

dot

2 of 2 verb
dotted; dotting
1
: to mark with a dot
dot an "i"
2
: to cover with or as if with dots
green buds dotted the branches
dotter noun

Medical Definition

dot

noun
: a small spot or speck see maurer's dots, schuffner's dots

Legal Definition

DOT

abbreviation

More from Merriam-Webster on dot

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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