sputter

American  

[spuht-er] / ˈspʌt ər /

verb (used without object)

1. to make explosive popping or sizzling sounds.

2. to emit particles, sparks, etc., forcibly or explosively, especially accompanied by sputtering sounds.

3. to eject particles of saliva, food, etc., from the mouth in a light spray, as when speaking angrily or excitedly.

4. to utter or spit out words or sounds explosively or incoherently, as when angry or flustered.

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verb (used with object)

1. to emit (anything) forcibly and in small particles, as if by spitting.

   The fire sputtered cinders.

2. to eject (saliva, food, etc.) in small particles explosively and involuntarily, as in excitement.

3. to utter explosively and incoherently.

noun

1. the act or sound of sputtering.

2. explosive, incoherent utterance.

3. matter ejected in sputtering.

sputter British  

/ ˈspʌtə /

verb

1. another word for splutter splutter splutter

2. physics

   1. to undergo or cause to undergo a process in which atoms of a solid are removed from its surface by the impact of high-energy ions, as in a discharge tube

   2. to coat (a film of a metal) onto (a solid surface) by using this process

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noun

1. the process or noise of sputtering

2. incoherent stammering speech

3. something that is ejected while sputtering

Other Word Forms

• sputterer noun
• sputteringly adverb

Etymology

Origin of sputter

1590–1600; sput- (variant of spout ) + -er ⁶; cognate with Dutch sputteren

Example Sentences

Whether it's been age profile, a creaking scrum, a sputtering attack, the unsettled fly-half situation or a British and Irish Lions hangover, most of the discussion has been largely negative.

From BBC

Instead, productivity growth has all but collapsed since the pandemic, and even before then was starting to sputter.

From The Wall Street Journal

Jonah had never before seen Dad so angry that he actually sputtered.

From Literature

The dearth of public transport is another nail in the coffin of the sputtering economy.

From Barron's

Instead, the arcs, lobes, and central dust cloud likely formed through a coordinated series of sputtering outbursts deep within the carbon-rich core of the aging star.

From Science Daily

Related Words

• falter
• stammer
• stutter