mutter

verb

mut·​ter ˈmə-tər 

muttered; muttering; mutters

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

ˈmə-tər-ər 

noun

Synonyms of mutter

• complain
• scream
• whine
• moan

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 on the Web

Old friend Daniel Vladar was spectacular in making 26 saves, several of which had Morgan Geekie (nine total shots, five on net, two blocked, two misses) muttering to himself. —Steve Conroy, Boston Herald, 28 Feb. 2026

Then, while there was still enough light to see them plainly, the two came stalking out of the brush, growling and muttering. —Doris Decleene, Outdoor Life, 25 Feb. 2026

In the village, men mutter about their land being taken over by outsiders. —Catherine Bray, Variety, 15 Feb. 2026

But the bad news is that outside of a mutual prisoner exchange, both sides walked away muttering the same old positions. —Daniel Depetris, Chicago Tribune, 10 Feb. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English muteren, of imitative origin

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Rhymes for mutter

• butter
• clutter
• cutter
• flutter
• gutter
• nutter
• putter
• rutter
• shutter
• sputter
• stutter
• utter

Kids Definition

mutter

verb

mut·​ter ˈmət-ər 

1

: mumble entry 1 sense 1

2

: to murmur complainingly or angrily : grumble

mutter noun

mutterer

-ər-ər 

noun