Synonyms

sputter

[spuht-er] Origin

sputter

[spuht-er]
verb (used without object)
1.
to make explosive popping or sizzling sounds.
2.
to emit particles, sparks, etc., forcibly or explosively, especially accompanied by sputtering sounds.
3.
to eject particles of saliva, food, etc., from the mouth in a light spray, as when speaking angrily or excitedly.
4.
to utter or spit out words or sounds explosively or incoherently, as when angry or flustered.
verb (used with object)
5.
to emit (anything) forcibly and in small particles, as if by spitting: The fire sputtered cinders.
6.
to eject (saliva, food, etc.) in small particles explosively and involuntarily, as in excitement.
7.
to utter explosively and incoherently.

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Sputter is one of our favorite verbs.
So is hornswoggle. Does it mean:
to run away hurriedly; flee.
to swindle, cheat, hoodwink, or hoax.
noun
8.
the act or sound of sputtering.
9.
explosive, incoherent utterance.
10.
matter ejected in sputtering.

Origin:
1590–1600; sput- (variant of spout) + -er6; cognate with Dutch sputteren

sput·ter·er, noun
sput·ter·ing·ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
sputter (ˈspʌtə)
 
vb
1.  splutter splutter another word for splutter
2.  physics
 a.  to undergo or cause to undergo a process in which atoms of a solid are removed from its surface by the impact of high-energy ions, as in a discharge tube
 b.  to coat (a film of a metal) onto (a solid surface) by using this process
 
n
3.  the process or noise of sputtering
4.  incoherent stammering speech
5.  something that is ejected while sputtering
 
[C16: from Dutch sputteren, of imitative origin]
 
'sputterer
 
n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

sputter
1598, "to spit with explosive sounds," cognate with Du. sputteren, W.Fris. sputterje (see spout). The noun is attested from 1673.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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