utterance
1 Americannoun
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an act of uttering; vocal expression.
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manner of speaking; power of speaking.
His very utterance was spellbinding.
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something uttered; a word or words uttered; a cry, animal's call, or the like.
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Linguistics. any speech sequence consisting of one or more words and preceded and followed by silence: it may be coextensive with a sentence.
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Obsolete. a public sale of goods.
noun
noun
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something uttered, such as a statement
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the act or power of uttering or the ability to utter
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logic philosophy an element of spoken language, esp a sentence Compare inscription
noun
Etymology
Origin of utterance1
late Middle English word dating back to 1400–50; see origin at utter 1, -ance
Origin of utterance2
1350–1400; Middle English < Old French outrance, oultrance, equivalent to oultr ( er ) to pass beyond (< Latin ultrā beyond) + -ance -ance
Explanation
An utterance is a bit of spoken language. It could be anything from "Ugh!" to a full sentence. To utter means "to say." So when you're saying something, you're making utterances. Saying "24" in math class is an utterance. A police officer yelling "Stop!" is an utterance. Saying "Good boy!" to your dog is an utterance. Even a long speech by the President is an utterance. If you can't hear it, it's not an utterance.
Vocabulary lists containing utterance
Silas Marner
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Tess of the d'Urbervilles - Phase the first
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Selection Vocabulary 2, Unit 4
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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.
And you couldn’t swing a dead cat at CES without hitting an AI-powered gadget that promises to listen and interpret your every utterance.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 24, 2026
The joy of the experience is writ large over Schoeman's bearded face and in his every utterance.
From BBC • Jul. 4, 2025
Rather than the warm acoustical refinement of the famed Musikverein, the Vienna Philharmonic’s home, every orchestral utterance jumped out at the audience like a 3D special effect.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 14, 2025
The algorithmic utterance does not have to be protected.
From Slate • Nov. 5, 2024
I was curious to see if she made sense, but also to know where this young woman who was crashing the stock market with her every utterance had come from.
From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis
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.
