Utter
verbTo make a sound with the voice or to say something aloud.
How to spell utter
5 letters · 2 syllables
How to pronounce utter
Say the part in capitals loudest.
What does utter mean?
- verbTo make a sound with the voice or to say something aloud.
- adjectiveComplete, total, or absolute.
Utter in a sentence
-
verb
He was too shocked to utter a single word.
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adjective
The project collapsed into utter chaos within a week.
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verb
She did not utter a sound during the entire meeting.
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adjective
His explanation was met with utter silence from the board.
Where does utter come from?
Language of origin: Germanic
The word comes from Middle English utteren, which meant to put out, send forth, or make known, and is closely tied to the old adverb ute meaning 'out'. The verb originally carried a commercial sense of putting goods out for sale before it settled into its modern meaning of putting words out of the mouth, that is, speaking. The Germanic root behind it is the same family that gives us 'out' and the Dutch uiteren 'to express', so the idea of pushing something outward sits at the heart of every sense. The adjective utter, meaning total or absolute, took a separate path from the same 'out' root, originally meaning 'outer' or 'outermost' and then shifting to mean complete or thorough, as in something carried out to its furthest extent. Because the spelling is short and phonetic, the main trap is simply the doubled t, which writers sometimes drop.
How the word is built
- utter (from Middle English utteren, related to ute/out: to put out, send forth)
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