mumble

CEFRC1

/ˈmʌmbəl/

verb

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    verb

    To speak quietly and unclearly.

  2. 02

    verb

    Extra detail

    A quiet or unintelligible vocalization; a low tone of voice.

Examples

  • Don't mumble your words. You are too old for that.

  • I heard him mumble to himself.

At a glance

Sits at C1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
4
Parts of speech
1
Citations
2

Deep Dive

verb

Extra meanings

  1. To chew something gently with closed lips.

  2. To speak unintelligibly or inaudibly; to fail to articulate.

More examples

In context

  • All I could hear was a mumble from the next room.

  • He spoke in a barely comprehensible mumble.

  • Please try not to mumble so I can hear you better.

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

The shy student would blank his answers so quietly that the teacher asked him to speak up.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

verb

From Middle English momelen, a frequentative of mum (sense 3) (“silent”). Compare German mümmeln, Middle Dutch mommelen and Dutch mompelen. Perhaps related to Norwegian Nynorsk mumpa (“to gum, to chew without teeth”).