Mumble
/ˈmʌmbəl/ noun, verb
noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A quiet or unintelligible vocalization; a low tone of voice.
"All I could hear was a mumble from the next room."
- 2 a soft indistinct utterance wordnet
Verb
- 1 To speak unintelligibly or inaudibly; to fail to articulate. intransitive, transitive
"Please try not to mumble so I can hear you better."
- 2 talk indistinctly; usually in a low voice wordnet
- 3 To chew something gently with closed lips.
- 4 grind with the gums; chew without teeth and with great difficulty wordnet
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”).