as in to drool
to speak rapidly, inarticulately, and usually unintelligibly
she was so shocked that, for a moment, all she could do was sputter
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of sputter
And can Justin Herbert rev up an offense that sputters in the red zone while likely missing LT Joe Alt to an ankle injury?
—
Greg Cote
october 2, Miami Herald, 2 Oct. 2025
Alec Bohm sputtered into last October, then was benched in the postseason.
—Matt Gelb, New York Times, 2 Oct. 2025
In August, a single-engine Piper PA-28 crash landed on southbound Interstate 805 in Sorrento Valley after the pilot noticed the engine was sputtering and losing power.
—Teri Figueroa, San Diego Union-Tribune, 30 Sep. 2025
Economic growth has sputtered for more than five years, and its world-famous manufacturing sector is in deep trouble.
—Greg Rosalsky, NPR, 30 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for sputter
Greg Cote
october 2, Miami Herald, 2 Oct. 2025
Alec Bohm sputtered into last October, then was benched in the postseason.
—Matt Gelb, New York Times, 2 Oct. 2025
In August, a single-engine Piper PA-28 crash landed on southbound Interstate 805 in Sorrento Valley after the pilot noticed the engine was sputtering and losing power.
—Teri Figueroa, San Diego Union-Tribune, 30 Sep. 2025
Economic growth has sputtered for more than five years, and its world-famous manufacturing sector is in deep trouble.
—Greg Rosalsky, NPR, 30 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for sputter
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sputter
Verb
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Flores will drool across the Irish Sea this week at the thought of welcoming a rookie quarterback making his first NFL start.—
Jason Lloyd,
New York Times,
28 Sep. 2025
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Keong says these pillow protectors slide easily over her puffiest pillows, wash up well at the laundromat, and help prevent her new pillows from getting too drooled-on to be presentable for overnight guests.—
Nashia Baker,
Architectural Digest,
23 Sep. 2025
Verb
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To their right, a woman raised her hand, jabbing her index finger forward and shouting.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
14 Oct. 2025
-
Perry shouted into her microphone.—
Escher Walcott,
PEOPLE,
14 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Diners chattered away and ate at the restaurant while wedding guests gathered on the dance floor.—
Lauren Mascarenhas,
CNN Money,
22 Sep. 2025
-
The data also added to chatter about whether a jumbo, half-percentage-point cut could be on the table in September — a conversation Jim Cramer feels is justified.—
Kevin Stankiewicz,
CNBC,
7 Sep. 2025
Verb
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But the other 3%, often muttered by students prospectively examining transfer applications, is distinct.—
Noah White,
Miami Herald,
30 Sep. 2025
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Your dad mutters for head movement, for cage cutting, for not playing off the back and creating distance.—
Matthew Shen Goodman,
Harpers Magazine,
19 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Young Republicans implicated in a scandal over racist, antisemitic and misogynistic comments in leaked chat messages reported by Politico face mounting calls to step down from their positions in party organizations.—
Robert Birsel,
MSNBC Newsweek,
15 Oct. 2025
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Contestants form bonds and make compatibility decisions while chatting through a wall, eventually getting engaged before meeting face-to-face for the first time.—
Saman Shafiq,
USA Today,
14 Oct. 2025
Verb
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But when the disheveled, withdrawn ex-friend shows up in the locker room gibbering about an evil spirit, Sam is mortified, impulsively knocking to the ground the grungy-looking Mason jar that Tamira has been carrying around.—
Dennis Harvey,
Variety,
18 Sep. 2023
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For a while, police interest bent toward a Phud who had been warned he might be eliminated from the program, who had seemed almost exultant about the fire and gibbered gleefully about the media spotlight.—
New York Times,
New York Times,
13 Apr. 2018
Verb
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Turner would try to rattle Simons at practices, just to test him.—
Jay King,
New York Times,
16 Oct. 2025
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And, that there was a goblin, squatting in my skull, rattling a metal pail full of bolts and hissing failure, rot, spoil.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
15 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The Lions fall to 4-2 with the defeat while the Chiefs continue to correct their stuttering start to the year by improving to 3-3.—
Ben Morse,
CNN Money,
13 Oct. 2025
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His good form last season coincided with a long injury-free run, so a stuttering start to this campaign is unfortunate.—
Jacob Tanswell,
New York Times,
8 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Sputter.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sputter. Accessed 17 Oct. 2025.
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