mutter

verb mut·ter \ ˈmə-tər \

|Updated on: 29 Jul 2018

Examples: mutter in a Sentence

Definition of mutter

intransitive verb

1 : to utter sounds or words indistinctly or with a low voice and with the lips partly closed

… he gestured and muttered furiously in his lawyer's ear.
—Tana French

2 : to murmur complainingly or angrily : grumble

Some employees muttered about the changes in the pension plan.

transitive verb

: to utter especially in a low or imperfectly articulated manner

muttered an apology

—

mutter

noun

—

mutterer

play \-tər-ər\ noun

See mutter defined for English-language learners

See mutter defined for kids

Examples of mutter in a Sentence

She angrily muttered something about her bad luck.
She sat practicing her speech, muttering to herself.
Some employees are muttering about the changes in the pension plan.

Recent Examples of mutter from the Web

Issues such as aggressive panhandling and guys with crazy eyes muttering to themselves are harder to measure.

— bill torpy, ajc, "Torpy at Large: Riding the rails in search of what ails MARTA," 13 June 2018
Of course the sound of scouts parsing talent, muttering under their breath with a crowd—3,692 tonight, a regular-season record—filing in, is a ballyard staple.

— SI.com, "Prospect and Pariah," 16 May 2018
Brother Reilly slept through the entire day and then through the night, muttering the whole time.

— john l’heureux, The New Yorker, "The Long Black Line," 14 May 2018
This time, Clinton was the incumbent president left muttering his objections, while his rival basked in Little Havana's cheers.

— christopher marquis, miamiherald, "Jorge Mas Canosa dead at 58," 15 June 2018
With the 2006 World Cup final moving into extra-time, goalscorer Marco Materazzi muttered a few words to France legend Zinedine Zidane, who returned with a headbutt to the Italian's chest.

— CNN, "World Cup 2018: Every matchup and kickoff time listed," 13 June 2018
One down-the-line forehand winner landed right at the baseline, leaving Thiem sagging his shoulders and muttering.

— howard fendrich, Houston Chronicle, "This one goes to 11: Rafael Nadal beats Dominic Thiem for French Open title," 11 June 2018
Dolores finds her way to her father, Peter Abernathy (Louis Herthum), who is still bolted to a chair and muttering gibberish.

— sandra upson, WIRED, "Westworld Recap, Season 2 Episode 7: Decoding Da Vinci," 4 June 2018
What happened next, and the phrase that was muttered, has become quite popular in Lincoln County.

— kristen hampton, wbtv, charlotteobserver, "'Get out of my buggy!' NC farmer tricked by sneaky snake | Charlotte Observer," 18 May 2018

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