stutter

Formsstutters, stuttering, stuttered

Pluralstutters

1. 1
   verbtransitive or intransitive

   To speak with a spasmodic, involuntary repetition of vocal sounds, especially at the start of words.

   Like a needle skipping on a record, replaying the same fragment before moving on.

   Children sometimes stutter when they are tired or overly excited.

   He tends to stutter on words that begin with hard consonants.

   Similarstammer

   Note

   The speaking sense goes back to Middle English stutten or stoten, and Dutch keeps a close cousin in stotteren. It works with or without an object: you can simply stutter, or stutter out the words themselves, as in he stuttered a few words of thanks. Stammer is the everyday alternative, while hacker survives only as an archaic British synonym.

2. 2
   nouncountable

   A speech disorder marked by the involuntary repetition or prolonging of sounds and syllables.

   A noticeable stutter made him dread reading aloud in class.

   Her stutter faded after months of practice with a speech therapist.

   Similarstammer

3. 3
   verbintransitive

   Of a motor or vent, to expel gas with difficulty rather than in a smooth, continuous flow.

   The rocket's thrusters stutter as the last of the fuel burns away.

   The engine began to stutter as it ran low on fuel.

   Similarsputter, splutter, cough, misfire, falter

   Oppositepurr, hum

   Note

   Here the halting rhythm of the speaking sense moves from the voice to breath and machinery: an old car's engine stutters going up a slope, and a runner can be stuttering after a marathon. Unlike the speech verb, it never takes an object. Nothing is stuttered out; the engine or the breath simply stutters.

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