murmur

noun mur·mur \ ˈmər-mər \

Updated on: 21 May 2018

Definition of murmur

1 : a half-suppressed or muttered complaint : grumbling

murmurs of disapproval

2 a : a low indistinct but often continuous sound

a murmur of voices

the murmur of the waves along the shore

b : a soft or gentle utterance

the murmur of nannies cooing into baby carriages
—Nancy Gibbs

3 : an atypical sound of the heart typically indicating a functional or structural abnormality

The physician detected a heart murmur in his patient.

See murmur defined for English-language learners

See murmur defined for kids

Examples of murmur in a Sentence

the murmur of the crowd
The suggestion brought murmurs of disapproval.
He spoke in a murmur.
They spoke to each other in murmurs.
the murmur of the waves along the shore

Recent Examples of murmur from the Web

What began as a murmur of self-doubt in Orange County political circles has intensified into one of the Democratic Party’s biggest nightmares: Even with all this momentum on their side, are Democrats about to blow their chance at retaking Congress?

— vauhini vara, The New Republic, "Essential reporting, interpretation, and opinion on politics and culture. Don't miss our latest.," 9 May 2018
In the courtroom’s public gallery, which held a large contingent of Mr. Assange’s supporters, many of the judge’s comments met with gasps and murmurs of disapproval.

— richard pÉrez-peÑa and iliana magra, New York Times, "Julian Assange’s Arrest Warrant Is Again Upheld by U.K. Judge," 13 Feb. 2018
The murmur of onlookers grew louder as more people collected outside of the yellow tape.

— laura mcknight, NOLA.com, "'They always shooting': Bystander at New Orleans East homicide," 25 Apr. 2018
Mediapro’s current customers, meanwhile, murmur about getting out of football.

— The Economist, "Mediapro offers a combustible mix of sport and politics," 28 Mar. 2018
Although his movements had been reduced to flicking a finger or squinting an eye, Hawking could still speak — a soft, monotone murmur that was barely audible.

— brian greene, Time, "How Stephen Hawking Helped Redefine the Rules of Reality," 15 Mar. 2018
The male characters, who become the objects of the ladies’ pursuit, are ripped hotties who eventually remove their shirts (to murmurs of approval from the audience, which seems just fine with the role-reversal objectification of the guys).

— christine dolen, miamiherald, "‘Sassy Mamas’ pursue younger guys in attempt to flip the script | Miami Herald," 22 Jan. 2018
McGraw would pause in his retelling, waiting as a murmur built among the audience.

— judy l. thomas, laura bauer and matt campbell, kansascity, "Mike McGraw, Pulitzer-winning investigative reporter, dies at 69 | The Kansas City Star," 6 Jan. 2018
But over the past few weeks, the murmur of Ocean Beach has been cut with a low mechanistic rumble.

— matt simon, WIRED, "Want to Fight Sea Level Rise? Look to San Francisco’s Ocean Beach," 11 Apr. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'murmur.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of murmur

Middle English murmure, from Anglo-French disturbance, from Latin murmur murmur, roar, of imitative origin

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

murmur Synonyms

Synonyms

beef, bleat, carp, complaint, fuss, grievance, gripe, grouch, grouse, grumble, holler, lament, moan, plaint, squawk, wail, whimper, whine, yammer;

Near Antonyms

commendation, compliment, plaudit;

acclaim, applause, praise;

approval, endorsement (also indorsement), sanction;

murmur

verb

Definition of murmur

intransitive verb

1 : to make a murmur

the breeze murmured in the pines

2 : complain, grumble

transitive verb

: to say in a murmur

—

murmurer

noun

See murmur defined for English-language learners

Examples of murmur in a Sentence

He murmured something about having to get home.
“Thank you,” she murmured as she left the room.
The breeze murmured in the pines.

Recent Examples of murmur from the Web

Guillard seemed momentarily puzzled, murmuring something about learning to drive a big rig.

— Fox News, "Europe faces a wave of freed terror convicts. Is it ready?," 11 May 2018
Chubb knows the draft order by heart, too, murmuring each team before Burkhardt writes it down.

— jenny vrentas, SI.com, "24 Hours ... With Bradley Chubb and His Team at the NFL Draft," 1 May 2018
The videos confront and mesmerize — the whispering, murmuring, and singing mouths cannot be escaped.

— cate mcquaid, BostonGlobe.com, "Meet six talented art-school grads," 27 Apr. 2018
Perhaps, observers murmured, Mr Trump really was reckless enough to risk a second Korean war.

— The Economist, "North Korea’s despot has one goal: survival," 26 Apr. 2018
Locals in town would occasionally murmur about the woman who vanished, but her disappearance was left unsolved, forgotten.

— samantha schmidt ·, courant.com, "50 years after Long Island woman vanished, police find her remains in a basement," 5 Apr. 2018
And as the audience at the Saturday screening murmured after the film's villainous politician blamed news reports on foreign agitators, that idea seemed to take further root.

— robert morast, Houston Chronicle, "Wes Anderson talks 'Isle of Dogs'," 20 Mar. 2018
As the Celtics' 10-point halftime lead disappeared, the Boston crowd began to murmur with discomfort as Oladipo controlled the game for 12 minutes.

— clifton brown, Indianapolis Star, "3 takeaways from the Pacers' win in Boston," 11 Mar. 2018
The audience murmured and then gently booed in a blue-suited banker indication of polite disapproval.

— kim hjelmgaard, USA TODAY, "Some say Trump's message of strong America 'good for everybody'," 26 Jan. 2018

Origin and Etymology of murmur

see ¹murmur

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

See Words from the same year

murmur Synonyms

Phrases

kick up a fuss;

MURMUR Defined for English Language Learners

murmur

noun

Definition of murmur for English Language Learners

: a low sound made when many people are speaking
: a quiet expression of an opinion or feeling
: speech or a way of speaking that is quiet and soft

murmur

verb

Definition of murmur for English Language Learners

: to say (something) in a quiet and soft voice
: to make a low, continuous sound

MURMUR Defined for Kids

murmur

noun mur·mur \ ˈmər-mər \

Definition of murmur for Students

1 : a low faint sound

the murmur of voices

2 : a quiet expression of an opinion or feeling

murmurs of approval

murmur

verb

Definition of murmur for Students

murmured; murmuring

1 : to make a low faint sound

The breeze murmured in the trees.

2 : to say in a voice too quiet to be heard clearly

She murmured “thank you” as she left.

Medical Dictionary

murmur

noun mur·mur \ ˈmər-mər \

medical Definition of murmur

: an atypical sound of the heart typically indicating a functional or structural abnormality — called also heart murmur

Learn More about murmur

See words that rhyme with murmur Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for murmur Spanish Central: Translation of murmur Nglish: Translation of murmur for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of murmur for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about murmur

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murmur

Definition of murmur

Examples of murmur in a Sentence

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Origin and Etymology of murmur

murmur Synonyms

Synonyms

Near Antonyms

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murmur

Definition of murmur

murmurer

Examples of murmur in a Sentence

Recent Examples of murmur from the Web

Origin and Etymology of murmur

murmur Synonyms

Synonyms

Antonyms

Near Antonyms

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Phrases

Phrases Related to MURMUR

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MURMUR Defined for English Language Learners

murmur

Definition of murmur for English Language Learners

murmur

Definition of murmur for English Language Learners

MURMUR Defined for Kids

murmur

Definition of murmur for Students

murmur

Definition of murmur for Students

Medical Dictionary

murmur

medical Definition of murmur

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