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
He normalized the idea that you can mumble stuff and do nothing.
From Slate ● Mar. 2, 2024
This is a regular criticism of Nolan - characters in his films often mumble or are drowned out by background noise.
From BBC ● Jan. 13, 2024
This set off the loudest bout of wailing yet, but the dragon obediently began to mumble words that Jack couldn’t understand.
From "Half Upon a Time" by James Riley
“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
“I am a solitary hero. I am alone. I am a solitary hero. Alone,” he mumbles to himself in voice-over.
From New York Times ● May 9, 2024
So now, as his camels are scattered in the field, feeding on thick green bushes, Mr Mahdi sits in the shade of a tree and mumbles slowly the words on his screen.
From BBC ● Sep. 12, 2023
When I wait in line for the bathroom, I ask the cute guy in front of me who the funny-looking man on his shirt is, and he just mumbles something and walks away.
From "I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter" by Erika L. Sánchez
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
He awkwardly mumbled about sponsoring the World Cup.
From BBC ● Jan. 24, 2025
He leaned against the bed, face-down on the top, and mumbled, “This body is the worst.”
From Anya and the Nightingale by Sofiya Pasternack
Mollie Amkraut Mueller’s mumbling was starting to get on her husband’s nerves.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 10, 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
She repeated herself, mumbling in his ear, and this time he heard her clearly.
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.
