pockmark

[pok-mahrk]

noun

1. Usually pockmarks. scars or pits left by a pustule in smallpox or the like.

2. a small pit or scar.

   a tabletop full of pockmarks.

verb (used with object)

1. to mark or scar with or as with pockmarks.

   gopher holes pockmarking the field.

pockmark

/ ˈpɒkˌmɑːk /

noun

1. Also called: pock. a pitted scar left on the skin after the healing of a smallpox or similar pustule

2. any pitting of a surface that resembles or suggests such scars

verb

1. (tr) to scar or pit (a surface) with pockmarks

Other Word Forms

• pockmarked adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of pockmark¹

First recorded in 1665–75; pock + mark ¹

Example Sentences

A small, wiry, pockmarked young man with curly hair and a hard-to-place accent, he loitered in the area for hours, asking kitchen workers if his target would be coming that way.

From Los Angeles Times

At the Saraya home in Sweida, signs of the violence are everywhere — walls pockmarked by shrapnel from a hand grenade and family pictures and mirrors cracked by bullet holes.

From Los Angeles Times

And not even in the federal government in Washington, where the streets are now pockmarked from tanks and military vehicles.

From Salon

The discontent stems not just from big issues, such as the loss of entertainment industry jobs, but also day-to-day matters such as broken sidewalks, pockmarked streets and lengthy 911 wait times.

From Los Angeles Times

The bullet-proof glass of the building largely held, but it is pockmarked with many signs of impact.

From BBC