judder
Americanverb (used without object)
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
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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The Boy Who Met a Whale
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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.
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
"The sea rose up on the windows and there was another judder, then a really bad thump and, very slowly, it went over on the port side."
From BBC • Mar. 4, 2022
These dips matter because sudden drops mean a more obvious judder or stutter for players.
From The Verge • Nov. 25, 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
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.
