stut·ter | \ ˈstə-tər 
\
\stuttered; stuttering; stutters
Definition of stutter
(Entry 1 of 2)
1 : to speak with involuntary disruption or blocking of speech (as by repetition or prolongation of vocal sounds)
2 : to move or act in a halting or spasmodic manner
the old jalopy bucks and stutters uphill— William Cleary
: to say, speak, or sound with or as if with a stutter
stutter
nounDefinition of stutter (Entry 2 of 2)
1 : an act or instance of stuttering
2 : the habitual tendency to stutter
had a mild stutter : stuttering
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Other Words from stutter
Verb
stutterer \ ˈstə-tər-ər \ noun
\ nounExamples of stutter in a Sentence
Verb
I used to stutter when I was a child.
She stutters when she gets excited.
Recent Examples on the Web: Verb Instead, Cephus tried to stutter-step past two Washington defenders, and was fortunate officials put 3 seconds back on the game clock after blowing the play dead.
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Dave Birkett, Detroit Free Press, "Detroit Lions film review: Inside Matthew Stafford's game-winning drive vs. Washington," 17 Nov. 2020 The Stuttering Foundation says approximately 60% of people who stutter have a family member who actively stutters, or used to.
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Claire Gillespie, Health.com, "Joe Biden's Stutter Has Put This Speech Disorder in the Spotlight—Here's What to Know About It," 1 Oct. 2020 Instead, electronic kick drums flinch and stutter while renegade synth melodies squirm around the music’s edges.
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Chris Richards, Washington Post, "For these jazz drummers, time is a flat circle (with a skin across the top)," 1 Sep. 2020 Maguire has been treating people who stutter, and researching potential treatments, for decades.
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Amber Dance Knowable Magazine, Smithsonian Magazine, "What Neuroscientists Are Discovering About Stuttering," 4 Sep. 2020 Sixty percent of those who stutter also have a family member who stutters, studies have found.
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Sandee Lamotte, CNN, "Stuttering 101: A biological condition no one should make fun of," 21 Aug. 2020 However, children who have developmental delays or other speech problems may be more likely to stutter.
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Sandee Lamotte, CNN, "Stuttering 101: A biological condition no one should make fun of," 21 Aug. 2020 Twenty seconds into his speech to the Democratic National Convention on Thursday, Brayden Harrington started to stutter.
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Tim Elfrink, Washington Post, "‘Pure, unvarnished, courage’: A 13-year-old ‘regular kid’ with a stutter gave a must-watch DNC speech," 21 Aug. 2020 In response, the company is trying to conserve computing resources so that its apps and cloud services don’t stutter.
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Jonathan Vanian, Fortune, "Google Photos no longer automatically backs up images from WhatsApp and Instagram," 30 June 2020 Recent Examples on the Web: Noun Harrington said the former vice president, who also stuttered as a child, gave him the confidence not to shy away from his stutter.
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CBS News, "13-year-old with stutter who spoke at DNC reflects on Biden win: "I see him as a role model"," 9 Nov. 2020 From his childhood stutter to the loss of his first wife, Neilia, and one-year-old daughter Naomi in a 1972 Christmas season car crash, he's connected with voters via his own narrative on the trail.
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Naomi Lim, Washington Examiner, "Biden steadies himself for historic shot at the presidency," 20 Oct. 2020 The former vice president, who struggled growing up with a stutter, stuttered slightly at the start of the program and at one point squeezed his eyes shut and slowed down his response to clearly enunciate his words.
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The Associated Press, NOLA.com, "Trump, Biden go at it — from a distance — in dueling televised town halls," 16 Oct. 2020 The former vice president, who struggled growing up with a stutter, stuttered slightly at the start of the program and at one point squeezed his eyes shut and slowed down his response to clearly enunciate his words.
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Jonathan Lemire, Star Tribune, "Trump, Biden go at it — from a distance — in town halls," 16 Oct. 2020 The former vice president, who struggled growing up with a stutter, stuttered slightly at the start of the show and at one point squeezed his eyes shut and slowed down his response to clearly enunciate his words.
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Anchorage Daily News, "Trump, Biden sharply criticize each other — from a distance — in dueling town halls," 16 Oct. 2020 Aside from school and sports, the shy boy with a stutter spent his childhood in their two-bedroom apartment, drawing superheroes and playing with Hot Wheels.
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Washington Post, "Segregated from opportunity," 15 Oct. 2020 Races up and down the ballot are stutter-stepping toward the finish line.
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Alden Woods, The Arizona Republic, "Nerves are nonpartisan: Voters battle stress as ballot-counting continues," 6 Nov. 2020 Harrington, who met Biden at a campaign event in February, spoke at the Democratic National Convention in August about how he was inspired by Biden’s own work to overcome a childhood stutter.
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Ryan Teague Beckwith, Bloomberg.com, "Trump Sets Commission on ‘Patriotic Education’: Campaign Update," 2 Nov. 2020
See MoreThese example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'stutter.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for stutter
stutter
verbEnglish Language Learners Definition of stutter
(Entry 1 of 2)
: to have a speech problem that causes you to repeat the beginning sound of some words
stutter
nounEnglish Language Learners Definition of stutter (Entry 2 of 2)
: a speech problem that causes someone to repeat the beginning sounds of some words
See the full definition for stutter in the English Language Learners Dictionary
stutter
verbstut·ter | \ ˈstə-tər \
\stuttered; stuttering
Kids Definition of stutter
(Entry 1 of 2)
: to speak or say with involuntary repetition or interruption of sounds
stutter
nounKids Definition of stutter (Entry 2 of 2)
: the act or an instance of speaking with involuntary repetition or interruption
stutter
intransitive verbstut·ter | \ ˈstət-ər \
\Medical Definition of stutter
(Entry 1 of 2)
: to speak with involuntary disruption or blocking of speech (as by repetition or prolongation of vocal sounds)
: to say, speak, or sound with or as if with a stutter
stutter
nounMedical Definition of stutter (Entry 2 of 2)
1 : an act or instance of stuttering
2 : the habitual tendency to stutter
had a mild stutter : stuttering sense 2
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Time Traveler for stutter
The first known use of stutter was in 1566
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