[ I or T ](因惊讶、愤怒等)语无伦次地说;发出嘟囔声;发出噼啪声 to speak in a quick and confused way, producing short, unclear noises because of surprise, anger, etc.
[ + speech ] "But, er ... when, um, ... how?" he spluttered. “但是,呃……什么时候,嗯……怎样?”他语无伦次地说道。
The old gentleman was spluttering with indignation. 那位老先生愤怒地嘟囔着什么。
He sputtered an apology about being 14 minutes late.