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
“It’s a mystery,” I mumble, my eyes on the cement floor.
From "The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman" by Gennifer Choldenko
“Why are you talking to me?” she mumbles in faux outrage.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 8, 2025
Unfortunately for Fox, much of what Homan has to say is hard to understand, because he mumbles.
From Slate ● May 18, 2024
"I love mumbles and the Gower coast," she said.
From BBC ● Sep. 29, 2023
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
"Don't," Yo mumbles to herself at the window, outlining her hairline with a contemplative index finger.
From "How the García Girls Lost Their Accents" by Julia Alvarez
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
But Mamdani’s speech was not the ritual of unity and healing they wanted and expected, and they were reduced to mumbled excuses about the microphone, his tone of voice and his inexperience.
From Salon ● Nov. 8, 2025
After a period dominated by the mumbled bars of Souncloud rap, her precision was a breath of fresh air.
From BBC ● Jun. 27, 2025
When Ivan mumbled the words on the page as he followed along with his finger, Anya realized he wasn’t speaking Russian, or Hebrew, or any language she had ever heard of.
From Anya and the Dragon by Sofiya Pasternack
Exiting the event, Shulman shuffled out with the crowd, headed next to a TikTok Grammys party, mumbling to a fellow attendee that his company seemed to be “persona non grata.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 28, 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
The revival has some acoustical static and moments of mumbling, but “Joe Turner’s Come and Gone” grows more lifelike and absorbing with each scene.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 1, 2025
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
I made some sort of soothing reply, but with the licence of age she did not listen, hobbling away mumbling that it was her fault.
From "Nectar in a Sieve" by Kamala Markandaya
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.
