sputter
Plural: sputters
Noun
- the noise of something spattering or sputtering explosively
- an utterance (of words) with spitting sounds (as in rage)
- Moist matter thrown out in small detached particles.
- Confused and hasty speech.
Verb
Verb Forms: sputtered, sputtering, sputters
- To emit sound or particles in short, irregular bursts.
- make an explosive sound
- "sputtering engines"
- cause to undergo a process in which atoms are removed
- "The solar wind protons must sputter away the surface atoms of the dust"
- climb awkwardly, as if by scrambling
- utter with a spitting sound, as if in a rage
- spit up in an explosive manner
- To emit saliva or spit from the mouth in small, scattered portions, as in rapid speaking.
- To speak so rapidly as to emit saliva; to utter words hastily and indistinctly, with a spluttering sound, as in rage.
- To throw out anything, as little jets of steam, with a noise like that made by one sputtering.
- To cause surface atoms or electrons of a solid to be ejected by bombarding it with heavy atoms or ions.
- To coat the surface of an object by sputtering.
Examples
- His opponent began to sputter nervously as the game turned against him.
Origin / Etymology
Probably representing Middle English *sputren, *sputrien, a frequentative form of Middle English sputen (“to spout, vomit”), equivalent to spout + -er. Cognate with Saterland Frisian spüttern (“to inject, spray, splash”), West Frisian sputterje (“to sputter”), Dutch sputteren (“to sputter”), Low German sputtern, spruttern (“to sprinkle”), German sprudeln (“to spout, squirt”). Compare splutter.
Synonyms
clamber, scramble, shin, shinny, skin, spatter, spattering, spit out, splatter, splattering, splutter, sputtering, struggle
Scrabble Score: 9
sputter: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Wordsputter: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
sputter: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary