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.
to utter (something) in a low and indistinct tone
(intr) to grumble or complain
(intr) to make a low continuous murmuring sound
See murmur.
1325–75; Middle English moteren, perhaps frequentative of moot ( Old English mōtian to speak); see -er 6
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.
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Andy Mutter, 50, from Weymouth, Dorset, said the challenge at Corfe Castle was also to mark St George's Day.
From BBC • Apr. 23, 2023
Mutter eagerly reveals a range of emotions that have an improvisatory quality, stopping more than once to share her feelings with the harp.
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 28, 2022
At the red-carpet opening on Friday, the violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter, who is also on Lucerne’s board, played a concerto by Joseph Boulogne, a Black composer born in the 18th century.
From New York Times • Aug. 12, 2022
French conductor Stéphane Denève will lead this all-star birthday bash featuring Yo-Yo Ma, Steven Spielberg, Anne-Sophie Mutter and others.
From Washington Post • Mar. 3, 2022
My Mutter certainly would not have done such a thing.
From "Salt to the Sea" by Ruta Sepetys
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.
