stutter

verb

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stut·ter | \ ˈstə-tər

stuttered; stuttering; stutters

Definition of stutter

(Entry 1 of 2)

intransitive verb

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

transitive verb

: to say, speak, or sound with or as if with a stutter

stutter

noun

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

Other Words from stutter More Example Sentences Learn More about stutter

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Examples 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 Jones looked good dropping back, stutter stepping and throwing to trainers with Judge standing a few yards behind and watching. — Patrick Leonard, courant.com, "Giants QB Daniel Jones sits out practice again, but is able to do some work on the side with Joe Judge watching," 3 Dec. 2020 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. — 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. — 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. — 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. — 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. — 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. — 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. — 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 Recent Examples on the Web: Noun People with a stutter or nonstandard speech caused by hearing loss or mouth cancer can also struggle to be understood by voice assistants. — Katie Deighton, WSJ, "Tech Firms Train Voice Assistants to Understand Atypical Speech," 24 Feb. 2021 Bucs running back Leonard Fournette finished what Brady and Godwin started, stutter-stepping out, spinning back in and barreled his way 20 yards for a go-ahead touchdown. — Jori Epstein, USA TODAY, "Tom Brady, Tampa Bay Bucs beat Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers and will play Super Bowl 55 at home," 24 Jan. 2021 Thornton had suddenly developed a severe stutter for the first time in his life. — Stephani Sutherland, Scientific American, "COVID Can Cause Forgetfulness, Psychosis, Mania or a Stutter," 21 Jan. 2021 Soo-Eun Chang, a neuroscientist at the University of Michigan, is among the few researchers investigating stutter. — Stephani Sutherland, Scientific American, "COVID Can Cause Forgetfulness, Psychosis, Mania or a Stutter," 21 Jan. 2021 Poetry does not come naturally to Biden, who in his youth overcame an embarrassing stutter and even now is more comfortable surrounding himself with competent technocrats than poetic visionaries. — Washington Post, "Biden links prosperity to civic virtues in inauguration speech," 20 Jan. 2021 As a child, Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. wrestled with words, grappling with a boyhood stutter. — New York Times, "How Joe Biden Became a Steady Hand Amid So Much Chaos," 20 Jan. 2021 The stutter isn't helped by Asobo's decision to lock the complete rendering engine to a single refresh rate instead of siloing the plane's interiors and cockpit and locking their contents' refresh rate. — Sam Machkovech, Ars Technica, "Microsoft Flight Simulator in VR: A turbulent start for wide-open skies," 23 Dec. 2020 His stutter release freezes Humphrey enough for Gallup to win inside. — Ellis L. Williams, cleveland, "Predicting Browns-Ravens: What key matchups and factors will decide the game?," 12 Dec. 2020

These 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.