stutter

[stuht-er] /ˈstʌt ər/

verb (used with object), verb (used without object)

to speak in such a way that the rhythm is interrupted by repetitions, blocks or spasms, or prolongations of sounds or syllables, sometimes accompanied by contortions of the face and body.

noun

distorted speech characterized principally by blocks or spasms interrupting the rhythm.

Origin

1520-30; earlier stut (Middle English stutten to stutter) + -er⁶; compare Dutch stotteren, Middle Low German stotern in same sense

Related forms

stutterer, noun

stutteringly, adverb

unstuttered, adjective

unstuttering, adjective

Can be confused

stammer, stutter (see synonym study at stammer)

Synonyms

1. See stammer.

Examples from the web for stutter

Some people who stutter find that they don't stutter when they read aloud or sing.
He has tools, as he puts it, to control the stutter.
They might well sweat, stutter or misspeak when pressured by crafty prosecutors, and be wrongly convicted.
Skip flavors that scream with high notes or stutter with chunks.
It left him with mood swings, a stutter and fistfuls of pills.
The simplicity is in the logic of the move, which is essentially a stutter step.
Surprisingly none of these guys mumble or stutter when talking about their awkwardness.
He's so shy that he talks with an engaging little stumble that is almost a stutter.
She approached this event with trepidation, handicapped by both a lifelong stutter and an obsession with privacy.
Otherwise, the picture begins to stutter, pausing so that the audio can keep up with the actors' lips.

British Dictionary definitions for stutter

stutter

/ˈstʌtə/

verb

to speak (a word, phrase, etc) with recurring repetition of consonants, esp initial ones

to make (an abrupt sound) repeatedly: the gun stuttered

noun

the act or habit of stuttering

a stuttering sound

Derived Forms

stutterer, noun
stuttering, noun, adjective
stutteringly, adverb

Word Origin

C16: related to Middle Low German stötern, Old High German stōzan to push against, Latin tundere to beat

Word Origin and History for stutter

1560s, frequentative form of stutt, from Middle English stutten "to stutter, stammer" (late 14c.), cognate with Middle Low German stoten "to knock, strike against, collide," from Proto-Germanic *staut- "push, thrust" (cf. Old English stotan, Old High German stozan, Gothic stautan "to push, thrust"), from PIE *(s)teu- (see steep (adj.)). The noun is attested from 1854.

stutter in Medicine

stutter stut·ter (stŭt'ər)
n.
A phonatory or articulatory disorder characterized by difficult enunciation of words with frequent halting and repetition of the initial consonant or syllable. v. stut·tered, stut·ter·ing, stut·ters
To utter with spasmodic repetition or prolongation of sounds.

stutter in Science

stutter

(stŭt'ər)
A speech disorder characterized by spasmodic repetition of the initial consonant or syllable of words and frequent pauses or prolongation of sounds.