Mutter
name, noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Definitions
- 1 A repressed or obscure utterance; an instance of muttering.
"The prisoners were docile, and accepted their lot with barely a mutter."
- 2 Peas.
- 3 a complaint uttered in a low and indistinct tone wordnet
- 4 a low continuous indistinct sound; often accompanied by movement of the lips without the production of articulate speech wordnet
- 1 To utter words, especially complaints or angry expressions, indistinctly or with a low voice and lips partly closed; to say under one's breath. intransitive, transitive
"You could hear the students mutter as they were served sodden spaghetti, yet again, in the cafeteria."
- 2 make complaining remarks or noises under one's breath wordnet
- 3 To speak softly and incoherently, or with imperfect articulations.
"The asylum inmate muttered some doggerel about chains and pains to himself, over and over."
- 4 talk indistinctly; usually in a low voice wordnet
- 5 To make a sound with a low, rumbling noise.
"April could hear the delivery van's engine muttering in the driveway."
- 1 A surname.
Example
More examples"Three hours later, the King was loitering around the castle, looking for something to busy himself with. "Fuck, I'm so bored," he grumbled in exasperation. "The kids are at school. Gwo's at work. Impa's at the hospital. Ganon—" Suddenly the King heard an incomprehensible cry and turned around to see Fari rush past him. "Damn, Fari, what was that?!" "Piss off, Your Majesty!" Fari yelled at the top of his lungs. "My... PMSing as usual, I see," the King continued to mutter dejectedly. "Shit, I'm so fucking bored. Nothing good on TV. Nothing good online. Nothing good to eat." As he was about to leave the dining hall, his eyes were drawn to a cinnamon jar standing lonely on the table. A spoon of cinnamon was placed conveniently next to it. In a saner state the King may have been reasonably suspicious about it, but now he was so exhausted from boredom that any opportunity to relieve it for a minute felt like a blessing. "I wonder what ground cinnamon tastes like," said he nonchalantly and put the spoon in his mouth."
Etymology
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.
From Hindi मटर (maṭar).
Related phrases
More for "mutter"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.