mum|ble

mum|ble
mum|ble «MUHM buhl», verb, -bled, -bling, noun.
–v.i.
1. to speak indistinctly, as a person does when his lips are partly closed; speak in low tones; mutter: »

She appeared as if she wanted to say something, and kept making signs…and mumbling (Charlotte Brontë).

 SYNONYM(S): See syn. under murmur. (Cf. ↑murmur)
2. to chew as a person does who has no teeth: »

The old dog mumbled on a crust.

–v.t.
1. to say indistinctly, as a person does when his lips are partly closed: »

to mumble one's words. He affirmed that we mumbled our speech with our lips and teeth, and ran the words together without pause or distinction (Tobias Smollett).

 SYNONYM(S): See syn. under murmur. (Cf. ↑murmur)
2. to chew as a person does who has no teeth: »

The old dog mumbled the crust.

–n.
the act or fact of mumbling; indistinct speech: »

There was a mumble of protest from the team against the umpire's decision.

╂[Middle English momelen, perhaps (frequentative) < mum2]
–mum´bler, noun.
–mum´bling|ly, adverb.

Useful english dictionary. 2012.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • mum|ble|ty-peg — «MUHM buhl tih PEHG noun. a game in which the players in turn flip a knife from various positions, trying to make it stick in the ground; the loser originally having to pull a peg out of the ground with his teeth. ╂[earlier mumble the peg] …   Useful english dictionary

  • mum´bling|ly — mum|ble «MUHM buhl», verb, bled, bling, noun. –v.i. 1. to speak indistinctly, as a person does when his lips are partly closed; speak in low tones; mutter: »She appeared as if she wanted to say something, and kept making signs…and mumbling… …   Useful english dictionary

  • mum´bler — mum|ble «MUHM buhl», verb, bled, bling, noun. –v.i. 1. to speak indistinctly, as a person does when his lips are partly closed; speak in low tones; mutter: »She appeared as if she wanted to say something, and kept making signs…and mumbling… …   Useful english dictionary

  • mum — am·i·dos·to·mum; amo·mum; an·cy·los·to·mum; an·the·mum; an·tho·sper·mum; aza·lea·mum; bat·ra·cho·sper·mum; bro·si·mum; bu·nos·to·mum; buph·thal·mum; car·dio·sper·mum; cas·ta·no·sper·mum; chry·san·the·mum; chry·san·the·mum·ic; cin·na·mo·mum;… …   English syllables

  • ble — ab·di·ca·ble; abom·i·na·ble; abus·a·ble; ac·ces·si·ble; ac·com·mo·da·ble; ac·cost·a·ble; ac·cu·mu·la·ble; ac·cus·a·ble; ace·to·sol·u·ble; achie·va·ble; acid·i·fi·a·ble; ac·knowl·edge·a·ble; act·a·ble; ac·ti·va·ble; ac·tu·al·iz·a·ble; add·a·ble;… …   English syllables

  • mumble — mum·ble …   English syllables

  • mumblety-peg — mum·ble·ty peg (mŭmʹbəl tē pĕg , blē pĕg ) also mum·ble the peg ( bəl thə ) n. A game in which players toss a jackknife in various prescribed ways, with the object being to make the blade stick firmly into the ground.   [From the phrase mumble… …   Universalium

  • mumble — mum|ble [ mʌmbl ] verb intransitive or transitive * to say something in a way that is not loud or clear enough so that your words are difficult to understand: He mumbled something about not wanting to go to work. ╾ mum|ble noun count ╾ mum|bler… …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • mumble — mum•ble [[t]ˈmʌm bəl[/t]] v. bled, bling, n. 1) to utter in a soft, indistinct manner 2) to chew ineffectively, as from loss of teeth 3) a soft, indistinct utterance or sound • Etymology: 1275–1325; ME momelen=mom(me) mum I+ elen le mum′bler, n.… …   From formal English to slang

  • mumbletypeg — mum•ble•ty•peg [[t]ˈmʌm bəl tiˌpɛg[/t]] also mum•ble the peg [[t] ðə [/t]] n. gam a children s game in which a pocketknife is flipped so that its blade sticks into the ground • Etymology: 1620–30; from phrase mumble the peg (see mumble); so named …   From formal English to slang

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