utter
1 Americanverb (used with object)
-
utters,
present (3rd person singular)
-
uttered,
past participle, past
-
uttering
present participle
-
to give audible expression to; speak or pronounce.
unable to utter her feelings;
Words were uttered in my hearing.
-
to give forth (cries, notes, etc.) with the voice.
to utter a sigh.
-
Phonetics. to produce (speech sounds, speechlike sounds, syllables, words, etc.) audibly, with or without reference to formal language.
-
to express (oneself or itself), especially in words.
-
to give forth (a sound) otherwise than with the voice.
The engine uttered a shriek.
-
to express by written or printed words.
-
to make publicly known; publish.
to utter a libel.
-
to put into circulation, as coins, notes, and especially counterfeit money or forged checks.
-
British Dialect. to expel; discharge or emit.
-
Obsolete. to publish, as a book.
-
Obsolete. to sell.
verb (used without object)
-
utters,
present (3rd person singular)
-
uttered,
past participle, past
-
uttering
present participle
-
to employ the faculty of speech; use the voice to talk, make sounds, etc..
His piety prevented him from uttering on religion.
-
to sustain utterance; undergo speaking.
Those ideas are so dishonest they will not utter.
adjective
-
her utter abandonment to grief;
utter strangers.
-
an utter denial.
verb
-
to give audible expression to (something)
to utter a growl
-
criminal law to put into circulation (counterfeit coin, forged banknotes, etc)
-
(tr) to make publicly known; publish
to utter slander
-
obsolete to give forth, issue, or emit
adjective
Synonym Usage
See absolute.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
utterablenessnoun
-
utterernoun
-
utternessnoun
-
unutteredadjective
-
utterableadjective
-
utterlessadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
uttersimple
-
utterssimple
-
have utteredperfect
-
has utteredperfect
-
am utteringprogressive
-
are utteringprogressive
-
is utteringprogressive
-
have been utteringperfect progressive
-
has been utteringperfect progressive
Past
-
utteredsimple
-
had utteredperfect
-
was utteringprogressive
-
were utteringprogressive
-
had been utteringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of utter1
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English outren, uttren; cognate with German äussern “to declare”; see origin at out, -er 6
Origin of utter2
First recorded before 900; Middle English outre, utter(e), Old English uttra, ūtera “outer”; see origin at out, -er 4
Explanation
The adjective utter is often used as an intensifier to mean "total" — often with negative connotations (like "utter failure"). As a verb, the word has a totally unrelated meaning: to speak or to articulate a sound. If you utter something, you give it voice. You could utter a cry or utter complete sentences; either way, you are expressing yourself. However, if you declare someone an utter moron, you are saying he is a complete and total moron; not that he is a moron expressing himself. Don't confuse the spelling of utter with udder — the latter is the part of the cow that you milk.
Vocabulary lists containing utter
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
List 6
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
"The Great Gatsby," Chapter 1 Vocabulary
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
But their unrelieved brightness and utter lack of texture have the bland flatness of plastic, and render them lifeless.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026
The utter silence of that room as he spoke, the admiration on all those famous faces said it all.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 15, 2026
All three sentences reflect, and reaffirm, Witkoff’s utter naivete.
From Slate ● Sep. 8, 2026
To deprive oneself of this film because of Mizrahi’s views would be to deny utter exhilaration.
From Salon ● Sep. 5, 2026
“I got thrown onto my back in utter darkness,” Sue remembered.
From "Mountain of Fire" by Rebecca E. F. Barone
One wonderfully executed sequence, in which Jonathan’s aunt calmly utters uncomfortable truths to the hypocritical and insensitive diners around her, is shocking and hilarious.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026
In it he utters what is now one of cinema's most famous lines.
From Barron's ● Feb. 16, 2026
"Brilliant," is one word that nearly every single England fan I speak to utters as I call out to them outside the stadium.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2025
She interviews an old boxer, suffering from dementia, who utters seemingly random numbers any viewer will recognize immediately as pregnant with dark meaning.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2024
He utters a line that never fails to make the audience laugh.
From "Lincoln's Last Days: The Shocking Assassination that Changed America Forever" by Bill O'Reilly
His castmate Richard O'Brien asked him to audition for his new musical, The Rocky Horror Show, the iconic 1973 role in which Curry uttered the line "don't dream it, be it".
From BBC ● Sep. 2, 2026
The late Peter Douglas, former executive director of the California Coastal Commission, uttered them many years ago.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 29, 2026
"It's crazy!" uttered a woman as the crowd beside suddenly burst into enthusiastic applause.
From Barron's ● Aug. 12, 2026
A radical departure in wording could lead Fed watchers to puzzle even more over what few syllables are uttered.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 14, 2026
I will not swear, reader, that there was not something of repressed sarcasm both in the tone in which I uttered this sentence, and in the feeling that accompanied it.
From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë
Nearly 300 episodes, which aired during the 1990s and 2000s, showed the hapless, accident-prone brothers uttering their catchphrase "To me, to you" as they caused chaos everywhere they went.
From BBC ● Jun. 2, 2026
Without uttering a word, they portray the nurses bustling behind doctors in the hit series "The Pitt," the agents guarding a crime scene in "NCIS" or, like Armella, work as "stand-ins" for stars.
From Barron's ● Feb. 17, 2026
The black-clad, 23-year-old singer-songwriter barely spoke to the audience, uttering only a couple of thank yous during one of two solo performances at the venue this past weekend.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 17, 2025
Caty Wagner, water campaign manager for the Sierra Club, said she is most concerned that a board member recently felt comfortable uttering a racist remark out loud.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 24, 2025
They were clearly in a state of terror, rearing up, their heads thrown back, uttering gurgling cries of fear.
From "Tiger, Tiger" by Lynne Reid Banks
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
