stammer
verb (used without object)
to speak with involuntary breaks and pauses, or with spasmodic repetitions of syllables or sounds.
stammering
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present participleof stammer.present participle
A verb form that is used in progressive verb constructions and may also function as a modifier or a gerund.
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a word derived from
stammer.
stammerverb (used without object)to speak with involuntary breaks and pauses, or with spasmodic repetitions of syllables or sounds.
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.
Smith, as you might expect, was confused by this line of questioning, stammering that he didn’t recall attending any Hawks games.
From Slate ● Sep. 29, 2026
This sends the oh-so-polite Higgins into a stammering fit: “Not similar. Sorry. What happened here was much worse. Much, much worse. Much, much, much, much, much, I can’t stop saying much for some reason.”
From Salon ● Aug. 7, 2026
After one of his sketches, the actual Sid Caesar might ever so briefly, in a stammering voice, appear before a commercial break to say: “We’ll be right back.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 14, 2025
Meanwhile, the resentful girl struggles to label Tim’s role, stammering to Jamie that she lives with, “my partner, my Tim, my boy-partner Tim.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 29, 2025
I said stammering, not meaning Tibe but Thessicher, whose betrayal was of a friend.
From "The Left Hand of Darkness" by Ursula K. Le Guin
