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 WebTara John, CNN, 13 Apr. 2024
German industry declines Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Germany has found itself in the unusual position of becoming the major laggard in Europe’s stuttering economic engine.
—Ryan Hogg, Fortune Europe, 11 Apr. 2024
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
Jackson Arn, The New Yorker, 12 Apr. 2024
Stuttering affects more than 80 million people worldwide, and in the United States, more than one million Americans stutter.
—Jennifer Kite-Powell, Forbes, 30 Mar. 2024
Soon after, his stutter faded away in conversations.
—Trip Gabriel, New York Times, 18 Mar. 2024
Researchers and activists are pushing for portrayals onscreen that include deaf actors, performers with stutters, autistic individuals, and others in the title role.
—Kalia Richardson, Rolling Stone, 24 Feb. 2024
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
Verb
The proceedings have stuttered over the years, some producing ground-breaking results – including the first time a Guatemalan head of state was put on trial.
—Tara John, CNN, 13 Apr. 2024
German industry declines Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Germany has found itself in the unusual position of becoming the major laggard in Europe’s stuttering economic engine.
—Ryan Hogg, Fortune Europe, 11 Apr. 2024
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
Noun
The trick is that each component lingers long enough to make any change feel like an event; checkerboard red-and-green switches to green-on-black, then green-on-black but with stutters of white and red.
—Jackson Arn, The New Yorker, 12 Apr. 2024
Stuttering affects more than 80 million people worldwide, and in the United States, more than one million Americans stutter.
—Jennifer Kite-Powell, Forbes, 30 Mar. 2024
Soon after, his stutter faded away in conversations.
—Trip Gabriel, New York Times, 18 Mar. 2024
Researchers and activists are pushing for portrayals onscreen that include deaf actors, performers with stutters, autistic individuals, and others in the title role.
—Kalia Richardson, Rolling Stone, 24 Feb. 2024
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
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.
Dictionary Entries Near stutter
Cite this Entry
“Stutter.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stutter. Accessed 24 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids 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
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