mutter.
A repressed or obscure utterance; an instance of muttering.
Meaning & usage
A repressed or obscure utterance; an instance of muttering.
The prisoners were docile, and accepted their lot with barely a mutter.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English muteren, moteren, of imitative origin. Compare Low German mustern, musseln (“to whisper”), German muttern (“to mutter; whisper”), Old Norse muðla (“to murmur”). Compare also Latin muttīre, mutīre.
To utter words, especially complaints or angry expressions, indistinctly or with a low voice and lips partly closed; to say under one's breath.
You could hear the students mutter as they were served sodden spaghetti, yet again, in the cafeteria.
The beggar muttered words of thanks, as passersby dropped coins in his cup.
To speak softly and incoherently, or with imperfect articulations.
The asylum inmate muttered some doggerel about chains and pains to himself, over and over.
To make a sound with a low, rumbling noise.
April could hear the delivery van's engine muttering in the driveway.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English muteren, moteren, of imitative origin. Compare Low German mustern, musseln (“to whisper”), German muttern (“to mutter; whisper”), Old Norse muðla (“to murmur”). Compare also Latin muttīre, mutīre.
Peas.
Where this word comes from
Etymology tree Proto-New Indo-Aryan *𑀫𑀝𑁆𑀝𑀭 (*maṭṭara) Hindi मटर (maṭar)bor. English mutter Borrowed from Hindi मटर (maṭar).
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.