mutter
verb (used without object)
to utter words indistinctly or in a low tone, often as if talking to oneself; murmur.
mutter
American
[muht-er]
/ ˈmʌt ər /
verb (used without object)
-
mutters,
present (3rd person singular)
-
muttered,
past participle, past
-
muttering
present participle
-
to utter words indistinctly or in a low tone, often as if talking to oneself; murmur.
-
to complain murmuringly; grumble.
-
to make a low, rumbling sound.
verb (used with object)
-
mutters,
present (3rd person singular)
-
muttered,
past participle, past
-
muttering
present participle
noun
-
mutters
plural
mutter
1
British
/ ˈmʌtə /
verb
-
to utter (something) in a low and indistinct tone
-
(intr) to grumble or complain
-
(intr) to make a low continuous murmuring sound
noun
Mutter
2
British
/ ˈmʊtə /
noun
Synonym Usage
See murmur.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
mutterernoun
-
mutteringnoun
-
unmutteredadjective
-
unmutteringadjective
-
mutteringlyadverb
-
unmutteringlyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
muttersimple
-
mutterssimple
-
have mutteredperfect
-
has mutteredperfect
-
am mutteringprogressive
-
are mutteringprogressive
-
is mutteringprogressive
-
have been mutteringperfect progressive
-
has been mutteringperfect progressive
Past
-
mutteredsimple
-
had mutteredperfect
-
was mutteringprogressive
-
were mutteringprogressive
-
had been mutteringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of mutter
1325–75; Middle English moteren, perhaps frequentative of moot ( Old English mōtian to speak); see -er 6
Explanation
When you mutter, you mumble under your breath, often in an angry way. You might mutter to yourself as you clean graffiti off your garage, for example. An irritable teenager might mutter when her parents make her get off the couch and mow the lawn, and your uncle might mutter at the television every night when he watches the news. When someone mutters, she speaks in a low voice, either to herself or to another person. Mutter was originally moteren in the fourteenth century, and it comes from a Proto-Indo-European root, mut, which was most likely imitative — in other words, it sounds like its meaning.
Vocabulary lists containing mutter
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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:
Then I watch them roll their eyes, mutter “You already told me this, Dad” and put their headphones back on.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026
They grads are also primed to boo any speakers who so much as mutter the words “artificial intelligence.”
From Slate ● May 20, 2026
The locals in their working-class part of the city of Sahiwal mutter that Zeba is living under a curse after her previous suitors died in mysterious circumstances.
From Barron's ● Feb. 21, 2026
When Musk makes the same prediction, analysts roll their eyes and mutter about missed timelines.
From MarketWatch ● Jan. 15, 2026
Sometimes he’ll mutter about something he forgot to do, or he’ll ask me with a blank expression how school’s going.
From "King and the Dragonflies" by Kacen Callender
A group of prominent musicians, including the conductor Simon Rattle, the pianist Martha Argerich and the violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter published a statement on Thursday condemning the hall, saying it was capitulating to protesters.
From New York Times ● May 16, 2024
Doug Mutter, who is also a director of vaping firm VPZ, welcomed the report and said the Scottish government needed to be more bold by introducing licensing and controls for selling vaping products.
From BBC ● Jun. 30, 2023
Listening to the Berlin Philharmonic over three evenings at Carnegie Hall this week, I kept thinking of what the violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter once told me.
From New York Times ● Nov. 13, 2022
Mutter, whose tone is famously robust and fleshy, plays as though she is looking around in her new environment.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 28, 2022
My Mutter always lamented my lack of friends in Heidelberg, but here each day I am introduced to someone new.
From "Salt to the Sea" by Ruta Sepetys
In addition to worrying about his ill daughter, Bach mutters and growls about the Prussian troops rampaging through his town.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 2026
The man and woman walk by me as the man mutters, “You people are crazy” and other words people don’t usually say on the streets of Pella.
From Slate ● Oct. 22, 2025
In 2025, the baseball world mutters about them, and how they are allegedly ruining the game.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 23, 2025
Some are goofily anachronistic, as when Johnson mutters a few times about pulling himself up by his bootstraps like everyone else.
From Salon ● Mar. 15, 2024
“Boys are always hungry,” she mutters before taking a jar of peanut butter off the shelf.
From "Dragons in a Bag" by Zetta Elliott
She blinked, paused, and then muttered: “In the winter.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026
Then, turning to me, she muttered, “Not according to the internet this week. I’m joking!”
From Slate ● Jul. 30, 2026
Levy brings a soft-spoken breathlessness you may recognize from his David Rose on “Schitt’s”; his softly muttered “OK,” which might just mean “stop talking,” is almost a trademark.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 15, 2026
By 02:00, the last muttered conversations faded away.
From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2025
"Dawn is breaking. We must go to Jiller," he muttered.
From "Rowan of Rin" by Emily Rodda
Beavis and Butt-head might leave chaos and destruction in their muttering, giggling wake, but they rarely suffer lasting harm themselves.
From Salon ● Sep. 6, 2026
Kail hustles through the emotional beats like a tour guide muttering, “You know what happened here.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 9, 2026
You can almost imagine Palace officials rolling their eyes and muttering, "Nightmare".
From BBC ● Jul. 4, 2026
Who knew that one of the Minions was originally meant to star in “Citizen Kane”? Apparently he was fired after muttering something like “Oh, pop” instead of “Rosebud.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 1, 2026
Mrs. Caruthers by this time was just muttering to herself.
From "Ophie's Ghosts" by Justina Ireland
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
