mutter
verb/ˈmʌtə(r)/
/ˈmʌtər/
Verb Forms
| present simple I / you / we / they mutter | /ˈmʌtə(r)/ /ˈmʌtər/ |
| he / she / it mutters | /ˈmʌtəz/ /ˈmʌtərz/ |
| past simple muttered | /ˈmʌtəd/ /ˈmʌtərd/ |
| past participle muttered | /ˈmʌtəd/ /ˈmʌtərd/ |
| -ing form muttering | /ˈmʌtərɪŋ/ /ˈmʌtərɪŋ/ |
- [transitive, intransitive] to speak or say something in a quiet voice that is difficult to hear, especially because you are annoyed about something
- + speech ‘How dare she,’ he muttered under his breath.
- mutter (something) (to somebody/yourself) (about something) She just sat there muttering to herself.
- I muttered something about needing to get back to work.
- mutter that… He muttered that he was sorry.
Extra Examples- ‘I don't need a drink, ’ she muttered through clenched teeth.
- He was muttering incoherently to himself.
- Helen began muttering darkly about hospitals.
- She heard him mutter an oath under his breath.
- She muttered something about the incompetence of the office staff.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- gruffly
- harshly
- hoarsely
- …
- be heard to
- hear somebody
- about
- to
Want to learn more?
Find out which words work together and produce more natural sounding English with the Oxford Collocations Dictionary app.
- [intransitive, transitive] to complain about something, without saying publicly what you think synonym grumble
- mutter (about something) Workers continued to mutter about the management.
- mutter that… A number of non-British visitors were heard to mutter that it would not have happened in Frankfurt.
Word Originlate Middle English: imitative; compare with German dialect muttern.
Check pronunciation:
mutter