stutter
Americanverb (used with or without object)
-
stutters,
present (3rd person singular)
-
stuttered,
past participle, past
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stuttering
present participle
noun
-
stutters
plural
verb
-
to speak (a word, phrase, etc) with recurring repetition of consonants, esp initial ones
-
to make (an abrupt sound) repeatedly
the gun stuttered
noun
-
the act or habit of stuttering
-
a stuttering sound
Usage
What does stutter mean? Stutter is to speak in a way in which the flow of speech is interrupted by repetitions, blocks, or prolonged sounds, as in He became so nervous that he started to stutter. Stutter also refers to this distortion of speech, as in My uncle was talking to the man with a stutter. The most commonly known form of stuttering is repetitions, either of partial words, as in I n-n-n-need water, or entire words, as in My-my-my back hurts. Two other forms of stuttering include prolonged sounds or syllables, as in Sssssshe is nice to me or blocks, which are stops when a person is struggling to get a word out. The word stammer is often used as a synonym for stutter, especially to describe temporary breaks in speech. However, stutter describes a wider range of speech distortions. Example: The girl hated speaking in front of the class because her shyness made her stutter and repeat her words.
Synonym Usage
See stammer.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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stuttersimple
-
stutterssimple
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have stutteredperfect
-
has stutteredperfect
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am stutteringprogressive
-
are stutteringprogressive
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is stutteringprogressive
-
have been stutteringperfect progressive
-
has been stutteringperfect progressive
Past
-
stutteredsimple
-
had stutteredperfect
-
was stutteringprogressive
-
were stutteringprogressive
-
had been stutteringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of stutter
First recorded in 1520–30; earlier stut ( Middle English stutten “to stutter”) + -er 6; compare Dutch stotteren, Middle Low German stotern in the same sense
Explanation
If you've ever heard a young child stammer and trip over his words, you know what it means to stutter. Use the verb stutter when someone gets stuck on certain word sounds, either because she's speaking too quickly or eagerly, or because she has an actual speech disorder, also called a stutter. The word itself is somewhat onomatopoeic — a word that sounds like what it means — with its repeated t sounds. Stutter is thought to be related to the Middle Low German word stoten, "to knock or strike against," which is the way a stutterer's words sometimes sound.
Vocabulary lists containing stutter
Long Way Down
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Purple Hibiscus
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Chapter 4: Mesopotamia
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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:
His nephew Griffin Bremner said he felt the plane stutter and the propellers slow down, then his uncle turned to him and said, “Griffin, we’re cooked!”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
It's nothing new - John Aldridge, Mexico legend Hugo Sanchez and Pele all used the stutter to gain an advantage - but it can backfire spectacularly if the goalkeeper doesn't commit to diving early.
From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026
The audio has a distinctly early-2000s quality to it, reminiscent of the days when incoming calls caused nearby speakers to violently stutter.
From Slate ● Jun. 20, 2026
As major U.S. stock indexes buckle and stutter, many advisors are turning their attention to moves that can help shave back tax bills for 2026 or in future years.
From Barron's ● Mar. 21, 2026
In the evening, when we were alone like that, Uncle Willie didn’t stutter or shake or give any indication that he had an “affliction.”
From "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou
"Gamers are willing to trade a little fidelity for convenience, but not to pay premium prices for something they don't own which stutters when the Wi-Fi dips," he said.
From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026
—European equities were mixed in early trade as a rally in technology stocks stutters.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
Russia's economy grew by one percent in 2025, President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday, marking a much slower expansion compared to the 2024 figure as it stutters under the burden of the Ukraine war.
From Barron's ● Feb. 3, 2026
When their relationship stutters at the 10-year mark, can they find their way to a new form of happiness?
From Los Angeles Times ● May 27, 2025
My breathing stutters, and I reach out a shaking hand to the table to steady myself.
From "An Ember in the Ashes" by Sabaa Tahir
Micron stock has stuttered in recent weeks but Mizuho's Vijay Rakesh is confident it will only be a blip.
From Barron's ● Aug. 11, 2026
If England have occasionally stuttered, so have Argentina, escaping from difficult situations against Cape Verde, Egypt and Switzerland in the knockout phase.
From BBC ● Jul. 15, 2026
My line stuttered forward and flopped onto the water with all the stealth of a cannonball.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 5, 2026
I have stuttered as long as I have been speaking.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 22, 2026
Inej glimpsed peacock feathers in the parlor, and her heart stuttered.
From "Six of Crows" by Leigh Bardugo
Bangladesh's new government has sought greater Chinese investments and partnership to revive a stuttering economy, even as it attempts to re-balance ties with neighbouring India.
From BBC ● Jul. 6, 2026
The outflows have come as Chinese policymakers have struggled to sustain a post-pandemic economic revival, with annual growth slowing, consumption stuttering and property sector debt mounting.
From Barron's ● Jul. 3, 2026
SoftBank shares have declined by more than a fifth in the last five trading sessions as speculation about its difficulty in raising a loan coincides with some stuttering in the overall narrative forAI-related technology stocks.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 10, 2026
When she was 6 or 7, Blunt started stuttering, a hereditary disorder that runs in her family.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 4, 2026
Or was he blowing air on the stuttering fire?
From "Ophelia" by Lisa Klein
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.
