Mumble

//ˈmʌmbəl// noun, verb

noun, verb ·Moderate ·High school level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A quiet or unintelligible vocalization; a low tone of voice.

    "All I could hear was a mumble from the next room."

  2. 2
    a soft indistinct utterance wordnet
Verb
  1. 1
    To speak unintelligibly or inaudibly; to fail to articulate. intransitive, transitive

    "Please try not to mumble so I can hear you better."

  2. 2
    talk indistinctly; usually in a low voice wordnet
  3. 3
    To chew something gently with closed lips.
  4. 4
    grind with the gums; chew without teeth and with great difficulty wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
aspirateaspirationbarkbated breathbawlbellow

Example

More examples

"All I could mumble in response was that when I was a man of fifty, my mother would lean out of the window when I left and remind me not to drive too fast."

Etymology

From Middle English momelen, a frequentative of mum (sense 3) (“silent”). Compare German mümmeln, Middle Dutch mommelen and Dutch mompelen. Perhaps related to Norwegian Nynorsk mumpa (“to gum, to chew without teeth”).

Related phrases

mumble rapmumble-beemumble-matinsmumblety peg

More for "mumble"

SynonymsSentencesPronunciationTranslate

Next best steps

Find stronger synonymsSee usage examplesCheck pronunciationBrowse writing guides

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.