sputter

Hopes had been high that the eurozone's traditional growth engine would sputter back to life in 2026 after years of stagnation, driven by Chancellor Friedrich Merz's public spending blitz.

From Barron's ● Apr. 22, 2026

He started Sunday with a sputter, including a double bogey on the par-three fourth and a bogey shortly after.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 12, 2026

To challenge that, he made Clark Kent a nerd, hunching his shoulders, making him sputter with nervousness.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 7, 2026

The series follows LeBlanc’s Joey Tribbiani to Hollywood — or “Ollywoo,” per his obstructed view of the Hollywood sign — where his acting career will sputter out of and into life.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 24, 2025

The faint sputter of a motorcar came from down the street, and a few minutes later a train on Alameda rattled on the rails as it headed to the railyard just beyond Chinatown.

From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu

Thankfully, there are a few moments when the album sputters into life.

From BBC ● Jul. 18, 2026

When Jay goes on to paraphrase “Baldwin” on the subject of white racism, Leigh is befuddled: “Alec Baldwin’s black?” he sputters.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 19, 2026

Small-cap companies tend to have weaker balance sheets, higher debt loads and can become more vulnerable to defaults than major corporations if the economy sputters.

From MarketWatch ● Jan. 22, 2026

A street market in a Buenos Aires working-class neighborhood bustles with desperate Argentines who have taken to hawking their belongings to make ends meet as the economy sputters.

From Barron's ● Oct. 22, 2025

Poe laughs midsip of his milk shake, but he sputters and begins to choke.

From "Five Feet Apart" by Rachael Lippincott

Sales at U.S. retailers in July had the largest decline in 14 months, but not because the economy sputtered.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 14, 2026

The investigation sputtered for decades because of a lack of evidence, but the cold case was revived with the publication in 2019 of Davis's memoirs.

From Barron's ● Aug. 10, 2026

While Hernández found contact on each of his at-bats, the rest of the team sputtered through six innings.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 26, 2026

A podcast company he launched with his friend Andrew Kuo sputtered.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 12, 2026

He sputtered on his end of the phone, which I interpreted to mean that he did not approve, so I said, “See you at four,” and I hung up.

From "Silent To The Bone" by E.L. Konigsburg

The researchers produced the material using magnetron sputtering deposition, a process that applies a thin film to a surface.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 31, 2026

The director’s moaning score here, supplemented with sputtering engines and clanking chains, underline the movie’s ghost-story vibe — the sense that poor Nick is both alive and dead.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 19, 2026

China’s economy has been sputtering for a years, with consumers especially reluctant to spend, hurting some of those companies.

From Barron's ● May 31, 2026

Even though China’s growth momentum is sputtering, it remains unclear if policymakers will jump into action, as the solid economic performance in the first quarter and robust exports have reduced expectations for near-term stimulus measures.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 18, 2026

The radio was sputtering and then we could hear the announcer explain about a man named Jackie Robinson—one of our folk playing with the Brooklyn Dodgers.

From "March Forward, Girl" by Melba Pattillo Beals