mutter
verb (used without object)
to utter words indistinctly or in a low tone, often as if talking to oneself; murmur.
mutter
American
[muht-er]
/ ˈmʌt ər /
verb (used without object)
-
mutters,
present (3rd person singular)
-
muttered,
past participle, past
-
muttering
present participle
-
to utter words indistinctly or in a low tone, often as if talking to oneself; murmur.
-
to complain murmuringly; grumble.
-
to make a low, rumbling sound.
verb (used with object)
-
mutters,
present (3rd person singular)
-
muttered,
past participle, past
-
muttering
present participle
noun
-
mutters
plural
mutter
1
British
/ ˈmʌtə /
verb
-
to utter (something) in a low and indistinct tone
-
(intr) to grumble or complain
-
(intr) to make a low continuous murmuring sound
noun
Mutter
2
British
/ ˈmʊtə /
noun
Synonym Usage
See murmur.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
mutterernoun
-
mutteringnoun
-
unmutteredadjective
-
unmutteringadjective
-
mutteringlyadverb
-
unmutteringlyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
muttersimple
-
mutterssimple
-
have mutteredperfect
-
has mutteredperfect
-
am mutteringprogressive
-
are mutteringprogressive
-
is mutteringprogressive
-
have been mutteringperfect progressive
-
has been mutteringperfect progressive
Past
-
mutteredsimple
-
had mutteredperfect
-
was mutteringprogressive
-
were mutteringprogressive
-
had been mutteringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of mutter
1325–75; Middle English moteren, perhaps frequentative of moot ( Old English mōtian to speak); see -er 6
Explanation
When you mutter, you mumble under your breath, often in an angry way. You might mutter to yourself as you clean graffiti off your garage, for example. An irritable teenager might mutter when her parents make her get off the couch and mow the lawn, and your uncle might mutter at the television every night when he watches the news. When someone mutters, she speaks in a low voice, either to herself or to another person. Mutter was originally moteren in the fourteenth century, and it comes from a Proto-Indo-European root, mut, which was most likely imitative — in other words, it sounds like its meaning.
Vocabulary lists containing mutter
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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:
A handful of townspeople now mutter about seceding from the local council area, echoing a widening harrumph of displeasure with the various layers of government in Britain.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026
They grads are also primed to boo any speakers who so much as mutter the words “artificial intelligence.”
From Slate ● May 20, 2026
He managed to mutter a few words with the help of his host, and was thrilled to receive a standing ovation from the crown for his efforts.
From BBC ● Mar. 30, 2026
The locals in their working-class part of the city of Sahiwal mutter that Zeba is living under a curse after her previous suitors died in mysterious circumstances.
From Barron's ● Feb. 21, 2026
“She wasn’t popular in her old school,” I mutter numbly.
From "How to Disappear Completely" by Ali Standish
Doug Mutter, who is also a director of vaping firm VPZ, welcomed the report and said the Scottish government needed to be more bold by introducing licensing and controls for selling vaping products.
From BBC ● Jun. 30, 2023
Mutter, who gave the world premiere of “Air” at the Lucerne Festival last year, played at Carnegie with a platinum tone, densely concentrated.
From New York Times ● Apr. 26, 2023
Mutter, whose tone is famously robust and fleshy, plays as though she is looking around in her new environment.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 28, 2022
Special guests cellist Yo-Yo Ma, filmmaker Steven Spielberg and German violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter will cue up selections from some of Williams’s most beloved scores, including “Close Encounters,” “E.T.,”
From Washington Post ● Jun. 17, 2022
My Mutter always lamented my lack of friends in Heidelberg, but here each day I am introduced to someone new.
From "Salt to the Sea" by Ruta Sepetys
In addition to worrying about his ill daughter, Bach mutters and growls about the Prussian troops rampaging through his town.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 2026
The man and woman walk by me as the man mutters, “You people are crazy” and other words people don’t usually say on the streets of Pella.
From Slate ● Oct. 22, 2025
“He better be working out because I’m just horrified about that fight — just horrified,” Kind mutters while shaking his head and picking at a small plate of bananas and peanut butter.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 28, 2025
Ms. Carson, who is wearing a black lacy gown, mutters, “Oh God, whatever,” as she waves her arms in exasperation.
From New York Times ● Mar. 13, 2024
Emmett pauses, closes his eyes, then mutters, “I begged my cousins not to tell my uncle and aunt. ‘I don’t want to be sent back to Chicago,’ I said.
From "Ghost Boys" by Jewell Parker Rhodes
Metallica’s always been more existential than topical, but haven’t we all scrolled our feeds recently and muttered - “Darkness imprisoning me / All that I see, absolute horror.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 4, 2026
Then, turning to me, she muttered, “Not according to the internet this week. I’m joking!”
From Slate ● Jul. 30, 2026
"Hoodlums," muttered 80-year-old village chief Joseph Batangouna as he walked past a group of young people sitting by the side of road in Mayitoukou, Congo-Brazzaville.
From Barron's ● Mar. 14, 2026
When Vinicius muttered "I'm going to leave this team" as he was replaced in Sunday's El Clasico win, it wasn't a new thought.
From BBC ● Oct. 30, 2025
Pinching his nose, he muttered something in Spanish.
From "Not Nothing" by Gayle Forman
Beavis and Butt-head might leave chaos and destruction in their muttering, giggling wake, but they rarely suffer lasting harm themselves.
From Salon ● Sep. 6, 2026
You can almost imagine Palace officials rolling their eyes and muttering, "Nightmare".
From BBC ● Jul. 4, 2026
On Tuesday, cameras caught Rushing muttering something after looking back at the Giants’ Jung Hoo Lee, who was in discomfort after an awkward slide at home plate.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 23, 2026
If you’ve caught yourself muttering Carlton Fisk wouldn’t have given anyone a fist bump, then Raleigh’s snub probably makes your cold heart flutter.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 16, 2026
We’ve been driving around for almost an hour, and Mama keeps making weird turns, swerving, and muttering to herself.
From "Isaiah Dunn Is My Hero" by Kelly J. Baptist
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.
