mumble
Americanverb (used without object)
-
mumbles,
present (3rd person singular)
-
mumbled,
past participle, past
-
mumbling
present participle
-
to speak in a low indistinct manner, almost to an unintelligible extent; mutter.
- Antonyms:
- articulate
-
to chew ineffectively, as from loss of teeth.
to mumble on a crust.
verb (used with object)
-
mumbles,
present (3rd person singular)
-
mumbled,
past participle, past
-
mumbling
present participle
-
to say or utter indistinctly, as with partly closed lips.
He mumbled something about expenses.
-
to chew, or try to eat, with difficulty, as from loss of teeth.
noun
-
mumbles
plural
verb
-
to utter indistinctly, as with the mouth partly closed; mutter
-
rare to chew (food) ineffectually or with difficulty
noun
Synonym Usage
See murmur.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
mumblernoun
-
half-mumbledadjective
-
mumblingadjective
-
unmumbledadjective
-
unmumblingadjective
-
mumblinglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
mumblesimple
-
mumblessimple
-
have mumbledperfect
-
has mumbledperfect
-
am mumblingprogressive
-
are mumblingprogressive
-
is mumblingprogressive
-
have been mumblingperfect progressive
-
has been mumblingperfect progressive
Past
-
mumbledsimple
-
had mumbledperfect
-
was mumblingprogressive
-
were mumblingprogressive
-
had been mumblingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of mumble
1275–1325; Middle English momelen, equivalent to mom ( me ) mum 1 + -elen -le; compare Dutch mommelen, German mummeln
Explanation
To mumble is to talk quietly and indistinctly. When people speak in a mumble, it's hard to understand them. Mumbling is a way of speaking that’s a little like whispering. Like whispering, mumbling is usually done with a low voice. However, mumbling is harder to understand than a whisper. When we mumble, we don't form out words clearly. Mumbling is the opposite of speaking clearly. Some people mumble because they lack confidence. Others might mumble because they're tired or not feeling well. If you want to be a good public speaker, you'd better learn to not mumble.
Vocabulary lists containing mumble
Instead of "Said": Words That Sound Like What They Mean
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The Circuit
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Finding Langston
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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:
In my rare visits to modern art museums, I mumble: “This piece represents an indictment of societal norms.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 18, 2026
This wasn’t cause for concern — a lot of students mumble.
From Salon ● Sep. 30, 2024
“Never heard that before,” he said, because mumble, mumble, George-Washington-and-the-Sound-of-History roaring in his ears.
From Slate ● May 28, 2024
"I was in so much pain I couldn't talk, only mumble," she added.
From BBC ● Apr. 19, 2024
“Just a few hours,” I mumble, staring out the window at a gnarled oak tree that twists up to the sky.
From "The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman" by Gennifer Choldenko
She opens her mouth to speak, and then mumbles: "I just looked after the baby."
From BBC ● Jul. 9, 2026
“I am appalled,” Smokey Robinson told the Daily Mail in a phone call Wednesday before reportedly devolving into mumbles about being contacted at home.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 8, 2025
Unfortunately for Fox, much of what Homan has to say is hard to understand, because he mumbles.
From Slate ● May 18, 2024
It is the name he mumbles when he is feverish in sleep and the one-word question when he needs to know I am near.
From Seattle Times ● May 5, 2023
“Sorry,” he mumbles, and plays with the buttons on the back of the camera.
From "The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl" by Stacy McAnulty
After a few more tense moments of silence, he mumbled under his breath and left.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 4, 2026
Why learn anything when the answer will always be one mumbled request away?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 24, 2026
Fed Chair Jerome Powell mumbled something about “ample reserves” and pointed back to 2019, when the repo market seized up overnight and forced the Fed to rush in with emergency cash.
From MarketWatch ● Dec. 2, 2025
The people in shot mumbled and were drowned out by a blaring TV.
From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2025
I mumbled the words back, feeling like a traitor to myself.
From "Code Name Kingfisher" by Liz Kessler
Mollie Amkraut Mueller’s mumbling was starting to get on her husband’s nerves.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 10, 2026
Over coffee at Cromwell’s Drugstore, the yet-to-be-discovered actors would discuss the mumbling, moving technique of another young actor.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 16, 2026
To test this idea, the researchers combined self-directed internal speech, described as quiet "mumbling," with a specialized working memory system.
From Science Daily ● Jan. 28, 2026
Elon Musk might be mumbling and hiding his pupils any time he gets near a stage, but that doesn't mean he lacks energy in the Oval Office.
From Salon ● Apr. 24, 2025
He was with Miss Mattie Lou—coughing and mumbling disconnected sentences picked out of the air from this or that time in their life.
From "Cold Sassy Tree" by Olive Ann Burns
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.
