"sputters" in the noun sense
1. spatter, spattering, splatter, splattering, sputter, splutter, sputtering
the noise of something spattering or sputtering explosively
"he heard a spatter of gunfire"
2. sputter, splutter
an utterance (of words) with spitting sounds (as in rage)
"sputters" in the verb sense
1. sputter
make an explosive sound
"sputtering engines"
2. sputter
cause to undergo a process in which atoms are removed
"The solar wind protons must sputter away the surface atoms of the dust"
3. clamber, scramble, shin, shinny, skin, struggle, sputter
climb awkwardly, as if by scrambling
4. sputter, splutter
utter with a spitting sound, as if in a rage
5. splutter, sputter, spit out
spit up in an explosive manner
Source: WordNet® (An amazing lexical database of English)
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