judder
Americanverb (used without object)
-
judders,
present (3rd person singular)
-
juddered,
past participle, past
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juddering
present participle
noun
verb
noun
-
abnormal vibration in a mechanical system, esp due to grabbing between friction surfaces, as in the clutch of a motor vehicle
-
a juddering motion
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
juddersimple
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judderssimple
-
have judderedperfect
-
has judderedperfect
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am judderingprogressive
-
are judderingprogressive
-
is judderingprogressive
-
have been judderingperfect progressive
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has been judderingperfect progressive
Past
-
judderedsimple
-
had judderedperfect
-
was judderingprogressive
-
were judderingprogressive
-
had been judderingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of judder
First recorded in 1925–30; origin uncertain; perhaps j(olt) or j(erk) + (sh)udder
Explanation
To judder is to shake rapidly, almost vibrating. If your car's engine needs a tune-up, it may judder a bit when you first start it up or stop at a traffic light. The verb judder first appeared in the 1930s. Experts guess that its origin was imitative, approximating the sound and motion it describes, and influenced by jolt and shudder. Engines, steering wheels, and other vehicle parts are commonly said to judder. Once televisions became common, judder was also used to describe a specific choppy quality to a show being displayed in a different format than the one in which it was filmed.
Vocabulary lists containing judder
The Weight of Our Sky
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The Way Back
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Where the River Takes Us
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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:
When we are out of sync, he says, we experience it as a kind of judder or twinge of social discomfort which “is your brain working a little harder to fix predictions that are wrong.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 22, 2026
AR use was at times visually busy: insects and starbursts appeared tangential to the action, and there were a few instances of slight judder.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 26, 2023
Video quality is fine but not great, and attempting to film in 4K produces some noticeable judder.
From The Verge ● Sep. 2, 2022
There was, medics said, a "slight judder" felt in the operating theatre, and a cheer erupted in the room.
From BBC ● Nov. 22, 2020
The muted thunder of the plumbing—she had not noticed it begin—ceased with a judder that shook the air.
From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan
After the recent IMF meetings, where central bankers vied to deliver hawkish messages, concerns are that policy screws will be tightened to an extent that growth judders to a halt.
From Reuters ● Apr. 25, 2022
No More Heroes 3 can’t hold anywhere near a solid 30fps when you’re driving your bike around the city — the constant hitches and judders honestly made me feel a little nauseous at points.
From The Verge ● Aug. 27, 2021
Apple told me that’s because it wants the interface and games to run as smoothly as possible; it’s found that the interface judders at 30Hz.
From The Verge ● Sep. 21, 2017
The shock of the cannon judders through the old boat.
From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2013
He convulses then, jerks and judders, jolts and twists and writhes, so much that the whole earth shakes.
From "Norse Mythology" by Neil Gaiman
As we started our left turn, though, the steering wheel spasmed and the brake pedal juddered.
From New York Times ● Jan. 17, 2023
I cemented my future place among the former as I juddered down the hill, my tender toes slamming into the fronts of my shoes.
From Washington Post ● Nov. 4, 2021
The picture panels in the porch door juddered when she slammed it behind her.
From The New Yorker ● Oct. 21, 2019
On a recent weekday, a Gold Line train juddered slightly as it navigated around a curve west of the Sierra Madre Villa station, in an area where five of the crashes have taken place.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 7, 2019
The car juddered to a full stop and tilted off to the right, a cloud of dust rising beyond the window.
From "Pax" by Sara Pennypacker
They were there to rally in support of the nationwide SAG-AFTRA actors strike that, together with an ongoing writer’s strike, has brought many TV and film productions juddering to a halt this summer.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 23, 2023
In these wondrously transporting images of juddering waves and swirling particles, accompanied by the rumbling, surging, keening strains of Ludwig Göransson’s magnificent score, Nolan makes a rare leap into realms of pure cinematic abstraction.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 19, 2023
The juddering occurred near the last leg of the flight, when the crew was conducting its final walk-throughs, said Elizabeth Spriggs, a passenger who sat near the back with her son.
From New York Times ● Jul. 13, 2023
A juddering, disorientating slice of synthpop, it was inspired by the siege Azovstal, and the civilians who defended the town's steel works.
From BBC ● May 12, 2023
When he turned the key, the engine revved and the car spasmed violently before settling into a loud, sustained juddering that shook us in our seats.
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
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.
