utter
1 Americanverb (used with object)
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utters,
present (3rd person singular)
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uttered,
past participle, past
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uttering
present participle
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to give audible expression to; speak or pronounce.
unable to utter her feelings;
Words were uttered in my hearing.
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to give forth (cries, notes, etc.) with the voice.
to utter a sigh.
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Phonetics. to produce (speech sounds, speechlike sounds, syllables, words, etc.) audibly, with or without reference to formal language.
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to express (oneself or itself), especially in words.
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to give forth (a sound) otherwise than with the voice.
The engine uttered a shriek.
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to express by written or printed words.
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to make publicly known; publish.
to utter a libel.
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to put into circulation, as coins, notes, and especially counterfeit money or forged checks.
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British Dialect. to expel; discharge or emit.
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Obsolete. to publish, as a book.
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Obsolete. to sell.
verb (used without object)
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utters,
present (3rd person singular)
-
uttered,
past participle, past
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uttering
present participle
-
to employ the faculty of speech; use the voice to talk, make sounds, etc..
His piety prevented him from uttering on religion.
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to sustain utterance; undergo speaking.
Those ideas are so dishonest they will not utter.
adjective
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her utter abandonment to grief;
utter strangers.
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an utter denial.
verb
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to give audible expression to (something)
to utter a growl
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criminal law to put into circulation (counterfeit coin, forged banknotes, etc)
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(tr) to make publicly known; publish
to utter slander
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obsolete to give forth, issue, or emit
adjective
Synonym Usage
See absolute.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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utterablenessnoun
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utterernoun
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utternessnoun
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unutteredadjective
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utterableadjective
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utterlessadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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uttersimple
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utterssimple
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have utteredperfect
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has utteredperfect
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am utteringprogressive
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are utteringprogressive
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is utteringprogressive
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have been utteringperfect progressive
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has been utteringperfect progressive
Past
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utteredsimple
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had utteredperfect
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was utteringprogressive
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were utteringprogressive
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had been utteringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of utter1
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English outren, uttren; cognate with German äussern “to declare”; see origin at out, -er 6
Origin of utter2
First recorded before 900; Middle English outre, utter(e), Old English uttra, ūtera “outer”; see origin at out, -er 4
Explanation
The adjective utter is often used as an intensifier to mean "total" — often with negative connotations (like "utter failure"). As a verb, the word has a totally unrelated meaning: to speak or to articulate a sound. If you utter something, you give it voice. You could utter a cry or utter complete sentences; either way, you are expressing yourself. However, if you declare someone an utter moron, you are saying he is a complete and total moron; not that he is a moron expressing himself. Don't confuse the spelling of utter with udder — the latter is the part of the cow that you milk.
Vocabulary lists containing utter
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"The Great Gatsby," Chapter 1 Vocabulary
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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:
I cackle at the distance between perfection and utter collapse, but I also feel a pang of tenderness: I am moved by their effort.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2026
Upon hearing Poland’s order, Eatherly closed his eyes in a look of utter devastation.
From Slate ● Aug. 20, 2026
But when they do, it’s like watching a magic trick play out before your eyes, leaving you so stunned you’re stammering, unable to utter even a single “How?”
From Salon ● Aug. 17, 2026
How he attempts to square that with his economy’s utter dependence on the goodwill of those rivals will determine whether and how China’s economy ever returns to a stable growth footing.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 16, 2026
The debate had ended with me getting a cup of lukewarm tea dumped in my lap while Raizel’s parents watched on in utter horror.
From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros
In it he utters what is now one of cinema's most famous lines.
From Barron's ● Feb. 16, 2026
Grant, on the other hand “talks like an earnest business-man—prompt clearheaded & decisive—& utters no bosh.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 23, 2026
"Brilliant," is one word that nearly every single England fan I speak to utters as I call out to them outside the stadium.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2025
Leave the thorn, Pleasure utters in lament, take the rose.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 1, 2025
He utters a line that never fails to make the audience laugh.
From "Lincoln's Last Days: The Shocking Assassination that Changed America Forever" by Bill O'Reilly
He often speaks about how he is living his dream - his parents have told him he has been talking about playing for England since he uttered his first words.
From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026
It will decide if words uttered on the evening news are something the public shouldn’t have heard.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026
"It's crazy!" uttered a woman as the crowd beside suddenly burst into enthusiastic applause.
From Barron's ● Aug. 12, 2026
Lineage Chief Operating Officer Jeff Rivera repeatedly uttered what everyone wanted to hear: “I am sorry.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 10, 2026
It snapped up the mouse, which uttered a forlorn squeak before being hurried off to the crevice in the rocks.
From "A Girl Named Disaster" by Nancy Farmer
Every thought worth uttering, everything that is true, can be said in plain, clear words, and often quickly.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 7, 2026
Without uttering a word, they portray the nurses bustling behind doctors in the hit series "The Pitt," the agents guarding a crime scene in "NCIS" or, like Armella, work as "stand-ins" for stars.
From Barron's ● Feb. 17, 2026
Pines recalls one young guest uttering to him in distress: "I've never done anything like that before."
From BBC ● Jul. 2, 2025
Caty Wagner, water campaign manager for the Sierra Club, said she is most concerned that a board member recently felt comfortable uttering a racist remark out loud.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 24, 2025
It was apparent that she was uttering a prayer.
From "1984" by George Orwell
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.
