stuttered; stuttering; stutters
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
William Cleary
: to say, speak, or sound with or as if with a stutter
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 WebMax Bergmann, Foreign Affairs, 21 Mar. 2024
Trump stuttered and repeated himself while talking about his conspiracy theory on Monday, which only seems notable because the former president ridiculed President Joe Biden for precisely that kind of rhetorical stumbling over the weekend.
—Matt Novak / Gizmodo, Quartz, 12 Mar. 2024
The invasion gave Putin a nationalist message around which to rally Russians, boosting his own image, and even as Russia’s campaign stuttered over the course of 2023, the war retained widespread support.
—Rob Picheta, CNN, 14 Mar. 2024
The invasion gave Putin a nationalist message around which to rally Russians, and even as Russia’s campaign stuttered over the course of 2023, the war retained widespread support.
—Rob Picheta, CNN, 25 Feb. 2024
As well as grappling with a stuttering economy, Sunak is trying to overcome a U.K. Supreme Court ban on his signature migration policy, a plan to send asylum-seekers who reach Britain across the English Channel on a one-way trip to Rwanda.
—Jill Lawless The Associated Press, arkansasonline.com, 17 Feb. 2024
Taylor Hill’s brooding, dynamic production blends stuttering hi-hats with sultry guitars, making for an instrumental every bit as immersive as Sir’s lead vocal.
—Kyle Denis, Billboard, 29 Jan. 2024
Europe has stuttered since the disappearance of cheap Russian oil and gas in the wake of sanctions that followed the country’s invasion of Ukraine.
—Ryan Hogg, Fortune Europe, 6 Feb. 2024
Blunt was there to accept the Wells Fargo’s Power of Women Alumni Award for dedicating her time and energy to help children overcome stuttering through educational resources at the American Institute for Stuttering.
—Meredith Woerner, Variety, 17 Nov. 2023
PCMAG, 6 Apr. 2024
The film tells the true story of King George VI’s (Colin Firth) struggle to overcome his severe stutter with the help of Australian speech therapist Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush).
—Shania Russell, EW.com, 18 Mar. 2024
In fact, one of the clips from Trump’s speech on Saturday which got the most coverage was his mockery of Biden’s stutter: a churlish—and, no doubt, premeditated—slur.
—Susan B. Glasser, The New Yorker, 14 Mar. 2024
To then be able to walk from his dorm to the diner behind the Westwood Drug Store, enter the back door that saved the freshman with a stutter from unnecessary banter with customers, and often find Jerry West made Hollis Johnson’s a safe zone for Walton as well.
—Scott Howard-Cooper., Los Angeles Times, 3 Mar. 2024
Biden, who has a stutter, often speaks in a whisper, sometimes tripping over his words, Stromer-Galley said.
—Brendan Rascius, Miami Herald, 13 Feb. 2024
Critics of Biden have not shied away from questioning the president’s cognitive ability and excoriating his stutter.
—Anthony Robledo, USA TODAY, 28 Jan. 2024
While Gracie speaks with a lisp, Joe talks with a stutter — both indicators of stunted childhoods, or pieces of performative victimhood?
—EW.com, 17 Nov. 2023
By the end of elementary school, to Dalton’s relief, the stutter had faded away.
—Andy Greenberg, WIRED, 14 Nov. 2023
Verb
The effort to repel Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is stuttering, and a revisionist Putin is threatening its European neighbors.
—Max Bergmann, Foreign Affairs, 21 Mar. 2024
Trump stuttered and repeated himself while talking about his conspiracy theory on Monday, which only seems notable because the former president ridiculed President Joe Biden for precisely that kind of rhetorical stumbling over the weekend.
—Matt Novak / Gizmodo, Quartz, 12 Mar. 2024
The invasion gave Putin a nationalist message around which to rally Russians, boosting his own image, and even as Russia’s campaign stuttered over the course of 2023, the war retained widespread support.
—Rob Picheta, CNN, 14 Mar. 2024
The invasion gave Putin a nationalist message around which to rally Russians, and even as Russia’s campaign stuttered over the course of 2023, the war retained widespread support.
—Rob Picheta, CNN, 25 Feb. 2024
As well as grappling with a stuttering economy, Sunak is trying to overcome a U.K. Supreme Court ban on his signature migration policy, a plan to send asylum-seekers who reach Britain across the English Channel on a one-way trip to Rwanda.
—Jill Lawless The Associated Press, arkansasonline.com, 17 Feb. 2024
Taylor Hill’s brooding, dynamic production blends stuttering hi-hats with sultry guitars, making for an instrumental every bit as immersive as Sir’s lead vocal.
—Kyle Denis, Billboard, 29 Jan. 2024
Europe has stuttered since the disappearance of cheap Russian oil and gas in the wake of sanctions that followed the country’s invasion of Ukraine.
—Ryan Hogg, Fortune Europe, 6 Feb. 2024
Blunt was there to accept the Wells Fargo’s Power of Women Alumni Award for dedicating her time and energy to help children overcome stuttering through educational resources at the American Institute for Stuttering.
—Meredith Woerner, Variety, 17 Nov. 2023
Noun
Launching and switching between apps feels smooth and doesn't cause the phone to lag or stutter.
—PCMAG, 6 Apr. 2024
The film tells the true story of King George VI’s (Colin Firth) struggle to overcome his severe stutter with the help of Australian speech therapist Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush).
—Shania Russell, EW.com, 18 Mar. 2024
In fact, one of the clips from Trump’s speech on Saturday which got the most coverage was his mockery of Biden’s stutter: a churlish—and, no doubt, premeditated—slur.
—Susan B. Glasser, The New Yorker, 14 Mar. 2024
To then be able to walk from his dorm to the diner behind the Westwood Drug Store, enter the back door that saved the freshman with a stutter from unnecessary banter with customers, and often find Jerry West made Hollis Johnson’s a safe zone for Walton as well.
—Scott Howard-Cooper., Los Angeles Times, 3 Mar. 2024
Biden, who has a stutter, often speaks in a whisper, sometimes tripping over his words, Stromer-Galley said.
—Brendan Rascius, Miami Herald, 13 Feb. 2024
Critics of Biden have not shied away from questioning the president’s cognitive ability and excoriating his stutter.
—Anthony Robledo, USA TODAY, 28 Jan. 2024
While Gracie speaks with a lisp, Joe talks with a stutter — both indicators of stunted childhoods, or pieces of performative victimhood?
—EW.com, 17 Nov. 2023
By the end of elementary school, to Dalton’s relief, the stutter had faded away.
—Andy Greenberg, WIRED, 14 Nov. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'stutter.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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
Dictionary Entries Near stutter
Cite this Entry
“Stutter.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stutter. Accessed 20 Apr. 2024.
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Kids Definition
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)
: to say, speak, or sound with or as if with a stutter
stutter
2 of 2 noun1
: an act or instance of stuttering
2
: the habitual tendency to stutter
had a mild stutter
: stuttering sense 2
More from Merriam-Webster on stutter
Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for stutter
Nglish: Translation of stutter for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of stutter for Arabic Speakers
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