sputter

[spuht-er]

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.

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

/ 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

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of sputter¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of sputter¹

C16: from Dutch sputteren, of imitative origin

Example Sentences

The U.S. jobs market had started to sputter well before the government shutdown began in October — and there’s little evidence to suggest businesses are looking to hire lots more workers.

Read more on MarketWatch

Trolley buses sputtered to a halt in the middle of the road.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Investors will want Beijing to take a bolder stance to revive its economy, which is still sputtering amid a four-plus year downturn in the real estate market and battered business and consumer confidence.

Read more on Barron's

Rashad quickly realizes that, out in the middle of nowhere, he has hit a dog, and now his car is sputtering and stalled.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

One of the cylinders in the U.S. economic engine is causing some sputtering.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• falter 
• stammer 
• stutter