sputter
verb (used without object)
to make explosive popping or sizzling sounds.
sputters
-
present tense formof sputter (3rd person singular).present tense
Used to describe things happening now or regularly.
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.
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
She sputters, she's so angry, but then she draws herself up, pulling out the Mask that lives at her core.
From "An Ember in the Ashes" by Sabaa Tahir
