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
“Let ’em have it, Mrs. Kluck,” I mutter.
From "A Place at the Table" by Saadia Faruqi and Laura Shovan
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
“He always says that music is not work for him, otherwise he would have stopped long ago,” Mutter said.
From New York Times ● Nov. 8, 2022
There is nothing specific in the concerto for Mutter, although I wonder whether it on some level may pay tribute to André Previn, who was one of Williams’ oldest friends and died in 2019.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 28, 2022
My Mutter certainly would not have done such a thing.
From "Salt to the Sea" by Ruta Sepetys
He mutters and trails off when he speaks publicly, making him hard to quote in full.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 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
Say it in your head after spending the afternoon here, and it’ll be you who mutters in disgust.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2024
Some are goofily anachronistic, as when Johnson mutters a few times about pulling himself up by his bootstraps like everyone else.
From Salon ● Mar. 15, 2024
“Should have gone to work,” mutters one of the policemen.
From "The Light in Hidden Places" by Sharon Cameron
Then, turning to me, she muttered, “Not according to the internet this week. I’m joking!”
From Slate ● Jul. 30, 2026
Francisco de Quevedo drank in long-gone watering holes where Luis de Góngora muttered his verse.
From Salon ● Jun. 23, 2026
At that point during the hearing, Darren Coates - one of Ian's sons - muttered "damn right".
From BBC ● Mar. 23, 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
The guardian doesn’t want us here,’ muttered the woman.
From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver
Some of Ullom’s richest themes need only a casual mention, like Fisher muttering that he has fewer photos of his family on his phone than stupid memes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2026
You can almost imagine Palace officials rolling their eyes and muttering, "Nightmare".
From BBC ● Jul. 4, 2026
Later, as the King closed out his speech, one of his final lines prompted some muttering – of both agreement and concern – from the Democratic side.
From BBC ● Apr. 28, 2026
“I remember a roomful of actors muttering ‘Jesus Christ’ each time they realized they had to sit through another cartoon,” Ms. Minnelli writes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 6, 2026
He flounced off, swishing his tail, muttering about going outside to take the air.
From "Redwall" by Brian Jacques
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.
