MEANING
To mark a surface with irregular patches of different colors.
Use it for
Words that belong together
- mottle a surface
- mottled light
On the page
Age had mottled the leather with pale patches around the seams.
Nearby words
Word forms
- Base
- mottle
- Past tense
- mottled
- Past participle
- mottled
- Present participle
- mottling
Full tense & aspect guide
- Present
- mottle
- Present continuous
- am/is/are mottling
- Present perfect
- have/has mottled
- Present perfect continuous
- have/has been mottling
- Past
- mottled
- Past continuous
- was/were mottling
- Past perfect
- had mottled
- Past perfect continuous
- had been mottling
- Future
- will mottle
- Future continuous
- will be mottling
- Future perfect
- will have mottled
- Future perfect continuous
- will have been mottling
Choose the auxiliary that agrees with your subject. These are constructions of one word, not separate entries.
Usage notes
Primary category: sensory / description. Forms: mottle; mottles; mottled; mottled; mottling Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Established modern English lexical item. No separate regional spelling or grammatical inflection entry. Writing functions: description. Commonness: moderately common. Third-person singular: mottles.
Practice this word in a sentenceYour margin notes
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