stammer

[stam-er]

verb (used without object)

1. to speak with involuntary breaks and pauses, or with spasmodic repetitions of syllables or sounds.

   Synonyms: falter, hesitate, pause

verb (used with object)

1. to say with a stammer (often followed byout ).

noun

1. a stammering mode of utterance.

2. a stammered utterance.

stammer

/ ˈstæmə /

verb

1. to speak or say (something) in a hesitant way, esp as a result of a speech disorder or through fear, stress, etc

noun

1. a speech disorder characterized by involuntary repetitions and hesitations

Other Word Forms

• stammerer noun
• stammeringly adverb
• unstammering adjective
• unstammeringly adverb
• stammering noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of stammer¹

First recorded before 1000; Middle English verb stammeren, Old English stamerian (cognate with German stammern ), equivalent to stam “stammering” + -erian -er ⁶; akin to Old Norse stamma “to stammer,” Gothic stams “stammering”

Word History and Origins

Origin of stammer¹

Old English stamerian ; related to Old Saxon stamarōn , Old High German stamm

Synonym Study

Stammer, stutter mean to speak with some form of difficulty. Stammer, the general term, suggests a speech disfluency that results in broken or inarticulate sounds and sometimes in complete stoppage of speech; it may be temporary, caused by sudden excitement, confusion, embarrassment, or other emotion, or it may be persistent and require speech therapy for its correction. Stutter, the parallel term preferred in technical usage, designates a broad range of speech production disturbances that produce spasmodic interruptions of the speech rhythm, repetitions, or prolongations of sounds or syllables: The child's stutter was no mere stammer of embarrassment.

Example Sentences

Andy looks like a human adult but behaves like an awkward, stammering middle-schooler eager to ingratiate himself with his peers by telling toothless jokes straight out of a Scholastic pun manual.

From Salon

The humanity Stamp imbued in the tragic, stammering naval vessel crewman established Stamp as a talent to watch — with a Golden Globe Award for best male newcomer to prove it.

From Los Angeles Times

Offstage, he was a doddering, stammering dad shuffling around rooms bustling with yapping tiny dogs urinating everywhere.

From Salon

Their eldest child became distressed and developed a stammer.

From BBC

Before the premiere, they were chauffeured around in festival-sponsored BMWs and now their friends are stammering how much they like their shoes.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• sputter 
• wobble 

When To Use

What does stammer mean?

To stammer is to speak with involuntary breaks or pauses or involuntarily repeated words or parts of words. In text, it is often represented with hyphens, as in s-s-s-safe to represent a struggle to pronounce the s- sound.A stammer is a way of speaking with a stammer, as in Kim spoke with a stammer, but it didn’t define him.To stammer is also to say something with a stammer, as in Lawrence was so nervous during his presentation that he stammered out the first part of his speech.Stutter is a synonym of stammer and is preferred in technical usage.Example: Everytime we have to present to the board, I get so nervous that I start to stammer.