stammer
Americanverb (used without object)
-
stammers,
present (3rd person singular)
-
stammered,
past participle, past
-
stammering
present participle
verb (used with object)
-
stammers,
present (3rd person singular)
-
stammered,
past participle, past
-
stammering
present participle
noun
-
stammers
plural
-
a stammering mode of utterance.
-
a stammered utterance.
verb
noun
Usage
What does stammer mean? To stammer is to speak with involuntary breaks or pauses or involuntarily repeated words or parts of words. In text, it is often represented with hyphens, as in s-s-s-safe to represent a struggle to pronounce the s- sound. A stammer is a way of speaking with a stammer, as in Kim spoke with a stammer, but it didn’t define him. To stammer is also to say something with a stammer, as in Lawrence was so nervous during his presentation that he stammered out the first part of his speech. Stutter is a synonym of stammer and is preferred in technical usage. Example: Everytime we have to present to the board, I get so nervous that I start to stammer.
Synonym Usage
Stammer, stutter mean to speak with some form of difficulty. Stammer, the general term, suggests a speech disfluency that results in broken or inarticulate sounds and sometimes in complete stoppage of speech; it may be temporary, caused by sudden excitement, confusion, embarrassment, or other emotion, or it may be persistent and require speech therapy for its correction. Stutter, the parallel term preferred in technical usage, designates a broad range of speech production disturbances that produce spasmodic interruptions of the speech rhythm, repetitions, or prolongations of sounds or syllables: The child's stutter was no mere stammer of embarrassment.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
stammersimple
-
stammerssimple
-
have stammeredperfect
-
has stammeredperfect
-
am stammeringprogressive
-
are stammeringprogressive
-
is stammeringprogressive
-
have been stammeringperfect progressive
-
has been stammeringperfect progressive
Past
-
stammeredsimple
-
had stammeredperfect
-
was stammeringprogressive
-
were stammeringprogressive
-
had been stammeringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of stammer
First recorded before 1000; Middle English verb stammeren, Old English stamerian (cognate with German stammern ), equivalent to stam “stammering” + -erian -er 6; akin to Old Norse stamma “to stammer,” Gothic stams “stammering”
Explanation
To stammer — or to have a stammer — is to speak haltingly and to have trouble getting the words out. A stammer is also called a "stutter." Stammering (or stuttering) has a couple of related meanings. A stammer is a serious problem for some people who have great difficulty speaking. They have trouble getting the words out, and their language does not flow. They might get stuck repeating one sound over and over again. This is a difficult problem to overcome. However, we all stammer sometimes, often because we're confused, scared, tired, or unsure of what to say.
Vocabulary lists containing stammer
"My Favorite Chaperone," Vocabulary from the short story
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Achievement First 6th Grade IA 1 Words
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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:
Hansen would then make a dramatic entrance and interrogate the men, who would often stammer and bumble through the encounter before leaving.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 27, 2026
Now, Gellar has made a more ceremonious return, albeit with a frustrating stop-and-start stammer.
From Salon ● Mar. 26, 2026
For people like Hayley Rawlings, from Newport, who has had a stammer since she was four, this is a familiar feeling.
From BBC ● Jan. 12, 2026
Joe Dilling, a physiotherapy technical instructor from St Athan, Vale of Glamorgan, has had a stammer since he was six-years-old.
From BBC ● Jan. 12, 2026
Tristran was given a berth with Oddness, the first mate, a quiet gentleman with large wings and a bad stammer, while Yvaine berthed in Meggot's cabin, and Meggot herself moved into a hammock.
From "Stardust" by Neil Gaiman
As someone who stammers occasionally, she found it less intimidating than a human.
From BBC ● Mar. 4, 2026
Britt stammers in response: “I don’t always—you know, yes, I cook Sunday nights for dinner, but I was about to say, I don’t always crush it.”
From Slate ● Dec. 18, 2025
In interviews, she openly admitted to feeling inadequate in her signature halting, circular stammers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2025
“I … I … I can’t ….go to work,” one stammers in German.
From Seattle Times ● May 28, 2024
"I'm—I'm—" Claudine stammers out, a deep blush climbing through her entire body.
From "The Belles" by Dhonielle Clayton
“Well, we really need to look at that,” Bass stammered before asking Raman if she was “getting ready to resign” from them.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2026
The clip featured influencer Jessie Yendle struggling to pronounce a sound as she stammered, before the repetition transitioned into the start of a popular TikTok dance track playing over footage of striker Serhou Guirassy.
From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2025
“I don’t think the American people are watching and thinking any of these people won,” Watters stammered out.
From Slate ● Sep. 11, 2024
Often speaking in Tajik through a translator, he answered questions about his biography quietly and stammered, according to Mediazona.
From New York Times ● Mar. 24, 2024
“Oh yes, yes!” stammered Darius, casting an almost reverent glance at Mo. “Is that him?”
From "Inkheart" by Cornelia Funke
Frazier’s natural skill as an “Entertainment Tonight” host helped smooth the transitions to Malkin’s stammering and distracting voice, but their worthless gushing detracted from the moment.
From Salon ● Jan. 12, 2026
After one of his sketches, the actual Sid Caesar might ever so briefly, in a stammering voice, appear before a commercial break to say: “We’ll be right back.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 14, 2025
That’s why, despite all of our biological programming and lived experience, a random question or interaction with a child will sometimes knock you on your back and leave you stammering.
From Salon ● Nov. 5, 2025
Meanwhile, the resentful girl struggles to label Tim’s role, stammering to Jamie that she lives with, “my partner, my Tim, my boy-partner Tim.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 29, 2025
He couldn’t stop stammering his thanks, sounding just like Professor Quirrell.
From "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" by J.K. Rowling
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
