stutter

1 of 2

verb

stut·​ter ˈstə-tər 

stuttered; stuttering; stutters

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 truck stuttered through traffic …

—Melissa Dribben

transitive verb

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

stutterer

ˈstə-tər-ər 

noun

stutter

2 of 2

noun

1

: an act or instance of stuttering

2

: the habitual tendency to stutter

had a mild stutter

: stuttering

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

While speaking to local news outlet ABC 6, Lando's mother, Michelle, said her family hopes sharing his experience on social media will help increase awareness about stuttering among the general population. —Toria Sheffield, PEOPLE, 3 May 2026

My heart and probably yours stutters. —Literary Hub, 1 May 2026

Noun

Qualcomm lauds the chip's ability to launch apps 20% faster and reduce screen stutter by 18%. —Florence Ion, PC Magazine, 7 May 2026

Indeed, folks who tried it reported that making a hard stop felt smoother, more exact and linear, and without the usual stutter of a hydraulic ABS system. —Abhimanyu Ghoshal, New Atlas, 6 May 2026

Word History

Etymology

Verb

frequentative of English dialect stut to stutter, from Middle English stutten; akin to Dutch stotteren to stutter, Goth stautan to strike — more at contusion

First Known Use

Verb

1566, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Noun

1651, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing stutter

• stutter step

Rhymes for stutter

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

Kids Definition

stutter

1 of 2 verb

stut·​ter ˈstət-ər 

: to speak in an uneven way with involuntary repeating or interruption of sounds

stutterer

-ər-ər 

noun

stutter

2 of 2 noun

1

: an act or instance of stuttering

2

: a speech disorder involving stuttering

Medical Definition

stutter

1 of 2 intransitive verb

stut·​ter ˈstət-ər 

: to speak with involuntary disruption or blocking of speech (as by repetition or prolongation of vocal sounds)

transitive verb

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

stutter

2 of 2 noun

1

: an act or instance of stuttering

2

: the habitual tendency to stutter

had a mild stutter

: stuttering sense 2