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Definition of Sputter
1. Noun. The noise of something spattering or sputtering explosively. "He heard a spatter of gunfire"
Generic synonyms: Noise
Derivative terms: Splat, Splutter
2. Verb. Make an explosive sound. "Sputtering engines"
3. Noun. An utterance (of words) with spitting sounds (as in rage).
4. Verb. Cause to undergo a process in which atoms are removed. "The solar wind protons must sputter away the surface atoms of the dust"
5. Verb. Climb awkwardly, as if by scrambling.
Generic synonyms: Climb
Derivative terms: Clamber, Struggle
6. Verb. Utter with a spitting sound, as if in a rage. "The streets sputter with cars "
Generic synonyms: Emit, Let Loose, Let Out, Utter
Derivative terms: Splutter, Splutter
7. Verb. Spit up in an explosive manner.
Generic synonyms: Cough Out, Cough Up, Expectorate, Spit Out, Spit Up
Definition of Sputter
1. v. i. To spit, or to emit saliva from the mouth in small, scattered portions, as in rapid speaking.
2. v. t. To spit out hastily by quick, successive efforts, with a spluttering sound; to utter hastily and confusedly, without control over the organs of speech.
3. n. Moist matter thrown out in small detached particles; also, confused and hasty speech.
Definition of Sputter
1. Noun. Moist matter thrown out in small detached particles; also, confused and hasty speech. ¹
2. Verb. To spit, or to emit saliva from the mouth in small, scattered portions, as in rapid speaking. ¹
3. Verb. To utter words hastily and indistinctly; to speak so rapidly as to emit saliva. ¹
4. Verb. To throw out anything, as little jets of steam, with a noise like that made by one sputtering. ¹
5. Verb. (transitive) To spit out hastily by quick, successive efforts, with a spluttering sound; to utter hastily and confusedly, without control over the organs of speech. ¹
6. Verb. (physics) (intransitive) To cause surface atoms or electrons of a solid to be ejected by bombarding it with heavy atoms or ions ¹
7. Verb. (physics) (transitive) To coat the surface of an object by sputtering ¹
¹ Source: wiktionary.com
Definition of Sputter
1. to eject particles in short bursts [v -ED, -ING, -S] : SPUTTERY [adj]
Medical Definition of Sputter
1. 1. To spit, or to emit saliva from the mouth in small, scattered portions, as in rapid speaking. 2. To utter words hastily and indistinctly; to speak so rapidly as to emit saliva. "They could neither of them speak their rage, and so fell a sputtering at one another, like two roasting apples." (Congreve) 3. To throw out anything, as little jets of steam, with a noise like that made by one sputtering. "Like the green wood . . . Sputtering in the flame." (Dryden) Origin: From the root of spout or spit to eject from the mputh. Cf. Splutter. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998)
Lexicographical Neighbors of Sputter
Literary usage of Sputter
Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:
1. The Civil War in Song and Story, 1860-1865 by Frank Moore (1889)
"... the point of which had been shot ofi', — as a whale spouts sea-water,
interposed, 'The d — d rascals' — sputter — 'come d — d near' — another blow and ..."
2. A Dictionary of English Etymology by Hensleigh Wedgwood, John Christopher Atkinson (1872)
"... to spirt or sputter ... sputter, or with a formative / instead of r, spittle,
to splash or dirty (Hal. ..."
3. A Practical Dictionary of the English and German Languages by Felix Flügel, Johann Gottfried Flügel (1861)
"DIa to sputter forth,out; II.n. 1.(aux. fein) to bubble up, sputter out; 2.
to cease bubbling up or sputtering out. ..."
4. Letters of George Meredith by George Meredith (1912)
"I have turned Wendell Phillips like a drenching fireman's hose on a parson, and
made him sputter and gutter and go to his wife to trim his wick. ..."
5. A Concise Etymological Dictionary of the English Language by Walter William Skeat (1901)
"sputter. (E.) The frequentative of spout. It means ' to keep on spouting out ' ;
hence to speak rapidly and indistinctly. Cf. Du. dial. ..."
6. The Works of George Meredith by George Meredith (1912)
"I have "turned Wendell Phillips like a drenching fireman's hose on a parson, and
made him sputter and gutter and go to his wife to trim his wick. ..."
7. Old Mother Earth: Her High-ways and By-ways by Josephine Simpson (1890)
"sputter TOP. PUTTER TOP! Pray who is he« Do you not know him ? Just think a minute.
He is another of Fire Gnome's numerous family, a lively one too, ..."
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