something uttered, such as a statement the act or power of uttering or the ability to utter
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025
ut•ter•ance1 /ˈʌtərəns/USA pronunciation
n.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025- [countable] something uttered.
- [uncountable] an act of uttering.
ut•ter•ance1
(ut′ər əns),USA pronunciation n.
ut•ter•ance2 (ut′ər əns),USA pronunciation n. [Archaic.]
- an act of uttering;
vocal expression. - manner of speaking;
power of speaking:His very utterance was spellbinding. - something uttered;
a word or words uttered;
a cry, animal's call, or the like. - Linguisticsany speech sequence consisting of one or more words and preceded and followed by silence: it may be coextensive with a sentence.
- [Obs.]a public sale of goods.
- 1400–50; late Middle English; see utter1, -ance
ut•ter•ance2 (ut′ər əns),USA pronunciation n. [Archaic.]
- the utmost extremity, esp. death.
- Latin ultrā beyond) + -ance -ance
- Old French outrance, oultrance, equivalent. to oultr(er) to pass beyond (
- Middle English 1350–1400
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