stammer
verb /ˈstæmə(r)/
/ˈstæmər/
[intransitive, transitive]Verb Forms
| present simple I / you / we / they stammer | /ˈstæmə(r)/ /ˈstæmər/ |
| he / she / it stammers | /ˈstæməz/ /ˈstæmərz/ |
| past simple stammered | /ˈstæməd/ /ˈstæmərd/ |
| past participle stammered | /ˈstæməd/ /ˈstæmərd/ |
| -ing form stammering | /ˈstæmərɪŋ/ /ˈstæmərɪŋ/ |
- to speak with difficulty, repeating sounds or words and often stopping, before saying things correctly synonym stutter
- Many children stammer but grow out of it.
- + speech ‘W-w-what?’ he stammered.
- stammer something (out) She was barely able to stammer out a description of her attacker.
Oxford Collocations DictionaryStammer is used with these nouns as the object:- apology
Word Originlate Old English stamerian, of West Germanic origin; related to stumble. The noun dates from the late 18th cent.