mutter

[ muht-er ]
See synonyms for: muttermutteredmutteringmutterer on Thesaurus.com

verb (used without object)
  1. to utter words indistinctly or in a low tone, often as if talking to oneself; murmur.

  2. to complain murmuringly; grumble.

  1. to make a low, rumbling sound.

verb (used with object)
  1. to utter indistinctly or in a low tone: to mutter complaints.

noun
  1. the act or utterance of a person who mutters.

Origin of mutter

1
1325–75; Middle English moteren, perhaps frequentative of moot (Old English mōtian to speak); see -er6

synonym study For mutter

See murmur.

Other words from mutter

  • mut·ter·er, noun
  • mut·ter·ing·ly, adverb
  • un·mut·tered, adjective
  • un·mut·ter·ing, adjective
  • un·mut·ter·ing·ly, adverb

Words Nearby mutter

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use mutter in a sentence

  • "It's not Joan I've killed at any rate," I heard him mutter as she turned and opened her eyes and smiled faintly up in his face.

    Three More John Silence Stories | Algernon Blackwood
  • For all that, an occasional mutter came unheeded to his ears, the closed curtains preserving articulate sounds like room walls.

    Cabin Fever | B. M. Bower
  • But Richard would cross himself and mutter prayers, calling on every saint to fight against the assailing devils.

    God Wills It! | William Stearns Davis
  • And he in turn told a story that made men cross themselves and mutter their Glorias.

    God Wills It! | William Stearns Davis

British Dictionary definitions for mutter (1 of 2)

mutter

/ (ˈmʌtə) /


verb
  1. to utter (something) in a low and indistinct tone

  2. (intr) to grumble or complain

  1. (intr) to make a low continuous murmuring sound

noun
  1. a muttered sound or complaint

Origin of mutter

1
C14 moteren; related to Norwegian (dialect) mutra, Old High German mutilōn; compare Old English mōtian to speak

Derived forms of mutter

  • mutterer, noun
  • muttering, noun, adjective
  • mutteringly, adverb

British Dictionary definitions for Mutter (2 of 2)

Mutter

/ (ˈmʊtə) /


noun
  1. Anne-Sophie. born 1963, German violinist

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012