sputterverb
uk/ˈspʌt.ər/us/ˈspʌt̬.ɚ/sputter verb (SOUND)
[ I or T ] to make several quick explosive sounds:
The car sputtered once or twice and then stopped.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Sounds made by objects, movement or impact
- chime
- clash
- crackling
- ding
- ding-a-ling
- ding-dong
- fizz
- hoot
- knock
- pip
- rasp
- ringer
- rumbling
- sing
- slam
- thud
- ting
- twang
- whine
- whistle
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sputter verb (ACTIVITY)
[ I ] literary If an activity sputters, it is weak and varied, and does not make people feel confident about it:
Russia's presidential campaign sputtered to an uneasy close on Monday.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Uncertainty
- be neither fish nor fowl idiom
- circumstantial
- conflicted
- debatable
- definite maybe
- dispute
- joker
- joker in the pack idiom
- kind
- kind of idiom
- kinda
- knife edge
- razor
- shade
- tenuous
- there's no knowing idiom
- touch-and-go
- uncertain
- uncertainty
- vague
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sputter
noun [ C ] ukus
The engine wouldn't start - it gave one or two sputters but that was all.