sputter

American  

[spuht-er] / ˈspʌt ər /

verb (used without object)

• sputters,
  present (3rd person singular)
• sputtered,
  past participle,  past
• sputtering
  present participle

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)

• sputters,
  present (3rd person singular)
• sputtered,
  past participle,  past
• sputtering
  present participle

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

Derived Forms

• sputterer
  noun
• sputteringly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Participles

• sputtering
  present
• sputtered
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• sputter
  simple
• sputters
  simple
• have sputtered
  perfect
• has sputtered
  perfect
• am sputtering
  progressive
• are sputtering
  progressive
• is sputtering
  progressive
• have been sputtering
  perfect progressive
• has been sputtering
  perfect progressive

Past

• sputtered
  simple
• had sputtered
  perfect
• was sputtering
  progressive
• were sputtering
  progressive
• had been sputtering
  perfect progressive

Future

• will sputter
  simple
• will have sputtered
  perfect
• will be sputtering
  progressive
• will have been sputtering
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of sputter

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

Explanation

When someone (or something) makes a soft, fast popping sound, they sputter. If you expect to win first prize in a poetry contest but don't, you might sputter, "But...but..." When you sputter, you're often angry, surprised, or otherwise at a loss for words. You may sputter incoherent sounds, or short syllables. When you start up your dirt bike, its engine sputters too, with muted exploding sounds. This word is also a noun: "The sputter from out on the lake told me he got the old motorboat going." In physics, to sputter is to send high-energy particles onto a material, dislodging tiny particles from its surface.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

sputter sputters sputtered sputtering

And as the Dodgers’ offense continued to sputter, the Diamondbacks surged with a trio of home runs, giving the fans exactly what they asked for Monday night.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 2, 2026

But shortly thereafter the rally began to sputter, as the below chart shows.

From MarketWatch ● May 27, 2026

Hopes had been high that the eurozone's traditional growth engine would sputter back to life in 2026 after years of stagnation, driven by Chancellor Friedrich Merz's public spending blitz.

From Barron's ● Apr. 22, 2026

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

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 19, 2026

In the distance, I heard the generators sputter and spin down, and all the lights along the harbor and in house windows behind me surged for a moment before going dark.

From "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children" by Ransom Riggs

Thankfully, there are a few moments when the album sputters into life.

From BBC ● Jul. 18, 2026

When a guard tells them they just beat the clock, the nervous Ray-Ray sputters, “Oh we’re not together—right, Sal?. . . Um, I meant sir, not Sal—right, Sal?”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 31, 2026

Small-cap companies tend to have weaker balance sheets, higher debt loads and can become more vulnerable to defaults than major corporations if the economy sputters.

From MarketWatch ● Jan. 22, 2026

A street market in a Buenos Aires working-class neighborhood bustles with desperate Argentines who have taken to hawking their belongings to make ends meet as the economy sputters.

From Barron's ● Oct. 22, 2025

He sputters, reaching up and clawing my forearm.

From "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen

It sputtered but eventually had a rebirth as an online gaming site with a sizable audience in Brazil.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026

The investigation sputtered for decades because of a lack of evidence, but the cold case was revived with the publication in 2019 of Davis's memoirs.

From Barron's ● Aug. 10, 2026

While Hernández found contact on each of his at-bats, the rest of the team sputtered through six innings.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 26, 2026

Throughout the year, several high-profile OpenAI commitments have sputtered, thanks to the company’s newfound frugality as well as an increasing sense of dissatisfaction from its business pals.

From Slate ● Mar. 25, 2026

Hot tears filled my eyes and my words sputtered out all angry and sad, like water sizzling on a hot tin pan.

From "Moon Over Manifest" by Clare Vanderpool

Instead, magnetron sputtering deposition creates the material from alloy vapor.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 31, 2026

China’s economy has been sputtering for a years, with consumers especially reluctant to spend, hurting some of those companies.

From Barron's ● May 31, 2026

Even though China’s growth momentum is sputtering, it remains unclear if policymakers will jump into action, as the solid economic performance in the first quarter and robust exports have reduced expectations for near-term stimulus measures.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 18, 2026

But he lets Magaro’s simmering fragility be a real presence: the sputtering glow of someone afraid to be the protagonist of his own story.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 1, 2026

She came to in seconds, sputtering and frantically wiping her mouth to get rid of the horrendous taste.

From "The Interrupted Tale" by Maryrose Wood

Related Words

• falter
• stammer
• stutter