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:
Then I watch them roll their eyes, mutter “You already told me this, Dad” and put their headphones back on.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026
They grads are also primed to boo any speakers who so much as mutter the words “artificial intelligence.”
From Slate ● May 20, 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
When Musk makes the same prediction, analysts roll their eyes and mutter about missed timelines.
From MarketWatch ● Jan. 15, 2026
“But you can’t stop me on the come up,” I mutter.
From "On the Come Up" by Angie Thomas
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
Listening to the Berlin Philharmonic over three evenings at Carnegie Hall this week, I kept thinking of what the violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter once told me.
From New York Times ● Nov. 13, 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
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 certainly would not have done such a thing.
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
When he mutters aloud what he is thinking about Shane — “Daughter married an idiot” — all hell breaks loose, prompting Rhys to flee without explanation or apology.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 6, 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
“Maybe,” he mutters as Zane climbs on the bus.
From "On the Come Up" by Angie Thomas
Then, turning to me, she muttered, “Not according to the internet this week. I’m joking!”
From Slate ● Jul. 30, 2026
At that point during the hearing, Darren Coates - one of Ian's sons - muttered "damn right".
From BBC ● Mar. 23, 2026
“After overhearing a passionate ideological dispute around her own kitchen table between the future Nobel laureate for literature and his radical friends from the University of Chicago, she muttered: ‘Smart, smart, smart.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 17, 2025
Though he’s given to explosive bursts of speech, as the character has developed, the humor he plays becomes more subtle and quiet, peppered with muttered comments and sotto voce asides he means to be heard.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 18, 2025
“She stays out of the sight of customers,” Ba muttered through his teeth.
From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu
Then we can make more Oppenheimer comparisons when he winds up pacing the frontiers, wringing his hands and muttering the Bhagavad Gita about what he’s unleashed.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
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
At one point these diminutive, muttering, bewhiskered mechanics accompany Grogu on a side quest, piling into a bitty space ship.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 22, 2026
Doli, still muttering angrily about his buzzing ears, rode last, as rear guard, although he flatly refused to make himself invisible no matter what the circumstances.
From "The Black Cauldron" by Lloyd Alexander
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