STUTTER

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does stutter mean? 

• STUTTER (noun)
  The noun STUTTER has 1 sense:

1. a speech disorder involving hesitations and involuntary repetitions of certain sounds

  Familiarity information: STUTTER used as a noun is very rare.

• STUTTER (verb)
  The verb STUTTER has 1 sense:

1. speak haltingly

  Familiarity information: STUTTER used as a verb is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• STUTTER (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A speech disorder involving hesitations and involuntary repetitions of certain sounds

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Synonyms:

stammer; stutter

Hypernyms ("stutter" is a kind of...):

defect of speech; speech defect; speech disorder (a disorder of oral speech)

Derivation:

stutter (speak haltingly)

• STUTTER (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they stutter    ... he / she / it stutters   
Past simple: stuttered   
Past participle: stuttered   
-ing form: stuttering   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Speak haltingly

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Synonyms:

bumble; falter; stammer; stutter

Context example:

The speaker faltered when he saw his opponent enter the room

Hypernyms (to "stutter" is one way to...):

mouth; speak; talk; utter; verbalise; verbalize (express in speech)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s something

Sentence example:

Sam and Sue stutter

Derivation:

stutter (a speech disorder involving hesitations and involuntary repetitions of certain sounds)

stutterer (someone who speaks with involuntary pauses and repetitions)

 Context examples 

People who stutter know what they want to say, but they have trouble saying it.

(Study in mice identifies type of brain cell involved in stuttering, National Institutes of Health)

“Gad, sir! Gad, sir!” stuttered a member of the latest dynasty, a king of the Skookum Benches.

(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)

But that was by no means the worst of it, for after a day or two at sea he began to appear on deck with hazy eye, red cheeks, stuttering tongue, and other marks of drunkenness.

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

There were slow boys and bashful boys, feeble boys and riotous boys, boys that lisped and boys that stuttered, one or two lame ones, and a merry little quadroon, who could not be taken in elsewhere, but who was welcome to the 'Bhaer-garten', though some people predicted that his admission would ruin the school.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

The scientists engineered this human stuttering mutation into the mice to create a mouse model.

(Study in mice identifies type of brain cell involved in stuttering, National Institutes of Health)

Earlier research has identified several genes associated with stuttering.

(Study in mice identifies type of brain cell involved in stuttering, National Institutes of Health)

Previous imaging studies have identified differences in the brains of people who stutter compared to those who do not.

(Study in mice identifies type of brain cell involved in stuttering, National Institutes of Health)

The mice had been engineered with a human gene mutation previously linked to stuttering.

(Study in mice identifies type of brain cell involved in stuttering, National Institutes of Health)

Using a mouse model of stuttering, scientists report that a loss of cells in the brain called astrocytes are associated with stuttering.

(Study in mice identifies type of brain cell involved in stuttering, National Institutes of Health)

The research does not indicate, however, that persistent stuttering is an early indicator of these other disorders.

(Study in mice identifies type of brain cell involved in stuttering, National Institutes of Health)