sputter

American  

[spuht-er] / ˈspʌt ər /

verb (used without object)

• sputters,
  present (3rd person singular)
• sputtered,
  past participle,  past
• sputtering
  present participle

1. to make explosive popping or sizzling sounds.

2. to emit particles, sparks, etc., forcibly or explosively, especially accompanied by sputtering sounds.

3. to eject particles of saliva, food, etc., from the mouth in a light spray, as when speaking angrily or excitedly.

4. to utter or spit out words or sounds explosively or incoherently, as when angry or flustered.

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verb (used with object)

• sputters,
  present (3rd person singular)
• sputtered,
  past participle,  past
• sputtering
  present participle

1. to emit (anything) forcibly and in small particles, as if by spitting.

   The fire sputtered cinders.

2. to eject (saliva, food, etc.) in small particles explosively and involuntarily, as in excitement.

3. to utter explosively and incoherently.

noun

1. the act or sound of sputtering.

2. explosive, incoherent utterance.

3. matter ejected in sputtering.

sputter British  

/ ˈspʌtə /

verb

1. another word for splutter splutter splutter

2. physics

   1. to undergo or cause to undergo a process in which atoms of a solid are removed from its surface by the impact of high-energy ions, as in a discharge tube

   2. to coat (a film of a metal) onto (a solid surface) by using this process

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noun

1. the process or noise of sputtering

2. incoherent stammering speech

3. something that is ejected while sputtering

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• sputterer
  noun
• sputteringly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Participles

• sputtering
  present
• sputtered
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• sputter
  simple
• sputters
  simple
• have sputtered
  perfect
• has sputtered
  perfect
• am sputtering
  progressive
• are sputtering
  progressive
• is sputtering
  progressive
• have been sputtering
  perfect progressive
• has been sputtering
  perfect progressive

Past

• sputtered
  simple
• had sputtered
  perfect
• was sputtering
  progressive
• were sputtering
  progressive
• had been sputtering
  perfect progressive

Future

• will sputter
  simple
• will have sputtered
  perfect
• will be sputtering
  progressive
• will have been sputtering
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of sputter

1590–1600; sput- (variant of spout ) + -er ⁶; cognate with Dutch sputteren

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Explanation

When someone (or something) makes a soft, fast popping sound, they sputter. If you expect to win first prize in a poetry contest but don't, you might sputter, "But...but..." When you sputter, you're often angry, surprised, or otherwise at a loss for words. You may sputter incoherent sounds, or short syllables. When you start up your dirt bike, its engine sputters too, with muted exploding sounds. This word is also a noun: "The sputter from out on the lake told me he got the old motorboat going." In physics, to sputter is to send high-energy particles onto a material, dislodging tiny particles from its surface.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

sputter sputters sputtered sputtering

Derek Scissors, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, said the move could also be Beijing issuing a warning to investors looking to put their capital elsewhere as the country’s economy continues to sputter.

From Barron's ● May 22, 2026

He started Sunday with a sputter, including a double bogey on the par-three fourth and a bogey shortly after.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 12, 2026

Instead, productivity growth has all but collapsed since the pandemic, and even before then was starting to sputter.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 19, 2026

Detroit, which can sputter offensively, controls this one with tempo and physicality.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 27, 2025

And the candle was getting shorter and shorter and whatever it was he wished for was not going to come true but just sputter out in the blue icing.

From "Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key" by Jack Gantos

Thankfully, there are a few moments when the album sputters into life.

From BBC ● Jul. 18, 2026

Small-cap companies tend to have weaker balance sheets, higher debt loads and can become more vulnerable to defaults than major corporations if the economy sputters.

From MarketWatch ● Jan. 22, 2026

As Boston’s biotech engine sputters, Ph.D.s can’t find work.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 31, 2025

A street market in a Buenos Aires working-class neighborhood bustles with desperate Argentines who have taken to hawking their belongings to make ends meet as the economy sputters.

From Barron's ● Oct. 22, 2025

The engine sputters and churns and I wonder if the truck will make it.

From "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett

Quarterback Sam Darnold with a hip injury after the opening drive, and the offense sputtered in his absence.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026

They took their proverbial foot off the gas, ran out of gas, sputtered to the finish line, got outscored 23-7 in the fourth quarter and looked like anything but a team with serious playoff plans.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 30, 2026

Sales at U.S. retailers in July had the largest decline in 14 months, but not because the economy sputtered.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 14, 2026

Canada's economy had sputtered over the past year, as Trump's tariffs squeezed key sectors like auto-making, forced job losses and sent jitters across the business community.

From Barron's ● Jul. 15, 2026

Jinny sputtered as she turned quickly this way and that, small waves rolling past her, breaking gently against her shoulders.

From "Orphan Island" by Laurel Snyder

He faces mounting challenges at home: a sputtering economy, a sweeping purge of the military’s top ranks, and a leadership reshuffle expected at next year’s party congress.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 23, 2026

Instead, magnetron sputtering deposition creates the material from alloy vapor.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 31, 2026

All of this left Cuban Ambassador Bruno Rodríguez sputtering in rage as he banged the desk and accused the American of failing to observe “decorum,” and calling him “a liar.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026

The director’s moaning score here, supplemented with sputtering engines and clanking chains, underline the movie’s ghost-story vibe — the sense that poor Nick is both alive and dead.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 19, 2026

I asked, my voice sputtering like an unused engine.

From "Not Nothing" by Gayle Forman

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Related Words

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