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
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The Circuit
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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:
Peters started to mumble, sway and close his eyes as the camera panned away.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 15, 2026
This is when many older workers quietly mumble to themselves: “I’m done with that,” she says.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 19, 2025
This wasn’t cause for concern — a lot of students mumble.
From Salon ● Sep. 30, 2024
He normalized the idea that you can mumble stuff and do nothing.
From Slate ● Mar. 2, 2024
I mumble under my breath like Mom used to.
From "The Last Cuentista" by Donna Barba Higuera
“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
"Did you see that? How quick is he?" mumbles the crowd, sitting on the edge of their seat in slight disbelief.
From BBC ● Jul. 6, 2023
“This was the last real grunge hit,” a singer mumbles into the microphone before belting “Plowed” by Sponge.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 15, 2023
Jonah mumbles around a mouthful of corn dog.
From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam
He mumbled something about more tests being needed and quickly left the room.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 13, 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
It's a rare flash of humour from the frontman, whose onstage utterings are mostly limited to mumbled "thank yous".
From BBC ● Nov. 21, 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
“Ma's a Touch with a metal marvel. She can work with wild iron and make you anything you want. Pa's a Spirit. Can cross just about any veil,” she mumbled.
From "The Marvellers" by Dhonielle Clayton
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 big man returned fairly soon after that, mumbling something about drinking too much water and about Barkley talking way too long when he really needed to cut to a break.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 23, 2025
There is part of me that wants to be happy about this mission, like Coleman is, instead of sourly mumbling about how the rocket is going up, and then back down.
From Slate ● Apr. 11, 2025
She made a mumbling noise, burying her face farther into the pillow.
From "Throne of Glass" by Sarah J. Maas
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
