How to Use murmur in a Sentence

murmur

1 of 2 noun
  • He spoke in a murmur.
  • They spoke to each other in murmurs.
  • The suggestion brought murmurs of disapproval.
  • The sweet murmur of the Sarayu added to the deceptive calm.
    Krishna Jha and Dhirendra K. Jha, Quartz India, 10 Nov. 2019
  • Over the sound of the ocean comes the murmur of business jargon.
    The Economist, 13 Mar. 2021
  • The cheers turned into a steady murmur as Kevin Mitchell came to bat.
    Henry Schulman, SFChronicle.com, 19 Mar. 2020
  • There have been murmurs for months over what Kvamme would do next.
    Jessica Mathews, Fortune, 22 Feb. 2023
  • There’s a low murmur from a crowd caught up in every pitch.
    Rick Wilber, Los Angeles Times, 3 Oct. 2022
  • The only sounds are the wind, the murmur of waves far below—and the hum of drone propellers.
    Susan Cosier, Scientific American, 12 Oct. 2022
  • Wayne would fish there for hours on end, lulled by the hypnotic murmur of the ocean.
    Glamour, 19 Apr. 2021
  • Time is stolen from them, and the murmur of Jewish prayers subsides.
    Los Angeles Times, 8 Mar. 2022
  • As one walks into the art piece, the loud music from dance crews, the murmur of the crowd and the bright lights of the billboards seem to fade away.
    New York Times, 26 Oct. 2021
  • For a few minutes there were no songs, no chants, only the soft murmur of fear.
    Clint Smith, The Atlantic, 2 July 2021
  • There was a bustle, the murmur of the crowd would reverberate off the walls.
    Carolyn Kellogg, Los Angeles Times, 26 May 2023
  • There are murmurs of multiple large-scale protests planned for the event.
    Hayden Dingman, PCWorld, 14 Oct. 2019
  • The mood in the chamber felt different this time—the smiles a little forced, a murmur of tension and doubt in the air.
    Barack Obama, The New Yorker, 26 Oct. 2020
  • The music is off, and the room is a low murmur of Cantonese, Mandarin and English.
    Cecilia Lei, San Francisco Chronicle, 10 Mar. 2023
  • There was a murmur in the room as people returned to their tables.
    David Treuer, Harper's Magazine, 26 Oct. 2021
  • When the place is packed (sixty people), the restaurant noise rises to a loud murmur.
    David Denby, The New Yorker, 1 Dec. 2023
  • The crowd watched in silence, then some hugged each other and low murmurs started up.
    Jesse Bedayn, Fortune, 20 Dec. 2023
  • News of this tragedy elicited murmurs of surprise and sympathy in the room.
    Anant Gupta, Washington Post, 22 Sep. 2023
  • And through that test, Reynolds learned the little girl was severely anemic – to the point of having a heart murmur.
    The Enquirer, 30 Jan. 2024
  • In fact, he was met with the murmurs of players antsy for the football season to get underway.
    Aaron Heisen, oregonlive, 15 Aug. 2023
  • There’s something about a good beach that enlivens the senses: the briny scent of salt in the air, the calming murmur of waves, the gentle nip of sand whipped up by the soft breeze.
    Lizzie Pook, Condé Nast Traveler, 6 July 2023
  • The murmur of bat wings fluttered above me, somewhere within earshot.
    Pete McBride, Smithsonian Magazine, 18 Sep. 2020
  • The devices produce a screen message telling the doctor whether the heart sounds are normal or if murmurs are present.
    courant.com, 23 Oct. 2019
  • There was a murmur in the Cougars’ mostly empty gym in the third quarter when Washington threw down a dunk.
    Mike Hutton, chicagotribune.com, 8 Dec. 2020
  • The only sound that came from the man was a murmur of surprise, a grunt, and then his attempts at breathing as his body struggled.
    Paul Yoon, Harper's magazine, 10 Mar. 2019
  • The physical will measure things like blood pressure and pulse and listen for heart murmurs.
    Amanda Sealy, CNN, 7 Apr. 2024
  • With the throttle down, the Tiara eases onto plane in around seven seconds, with hardly a murmur from the outboards behind.
    Howard Walker, Robb Report, 18 Jan. 2024
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murmur

2 of 2 verb
  • The breeze murmured in the pines.
  • He murmured something about having to get home.
  • By the time the third inning is over and the A’s have no hits, the crowd is starting to murmur.
    Bruce Jenkins, SFChronicle.com, 27 June 2020
  • There was a wave of murmuring, and the room got very quiet.
    Allan Kozinn, New York Times, 9 July 2019
  • The tables had tablecloths, the lights were dim, music murmured from the walls and there were no drinks on the house.
    Bill Savage, Chicago Reader, 13 June 2018
  • There are no traces of the meadows, or the woodland murmurs the libretto refers to.
    Anthony Tommasini, New York Times, 6 Feb. 2018
  • Her soft old voice murmured something, like a word or two of comfort to the baby.
    Philip Pullman, Slate Magazine, 26 May 2017
  • Her voice broke, and Dan heard his dad murmur something in reply.
    Lizz Schumer, Good Housekeeping, 23 Oct. 2019
  • The staffers were in the zone, quietly murmuring to themselves.
    Constance Grady, Vox, 11 Aug. 2018
  • With Drew Brees out for a while, some talking heads are starting to murmur about the Bucs being the best team in the conference.
    Mark Craig, Star Tribune, 17 Nov. 2020
  • On Saturday, as soon as Mickelson hit his wedge shot close on the 17th, the crowd near the hole began to murmur.
    Karen Crouse, New York Times, 30 Sep. 2017
  • The arena murmured with laughter, then a chorus of boos rang from an arena bathed in white.
    Zach Osterman, The Indianapolis Star, 22 Feb. 2023
  • Chubb knows the draft order by heart, too, murmuring each team before Burkhardt writes it down.
    Jenny Vrentas, SI.com, 1 May 2018
  • What could the penguins that live there do to adapt? The children, most of them age 7, murmured excitedly.
    Cara Buckley, New York Times, 15 June 2023
  • When the nurse offered to take Christian to the nursery that first night, both John and Megan murmured assent, then fell asleep before the two had even left the room.
    Anndee Hochman, Philly.com, 13 Feb. 2018
  • One man, who’s a regular there, held wooden rosary beads and murmured prayers.
    San Diego Union-Tribune, 3 Oct. 2019
  • On a recent day Lein stood in one of her barns as a contented chorus of 9,400 chickens clucked and murmured.
    Meg Jones, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 23 Apr. 2020
  • At the end of the show, everyone headed into the night together by the murmuring Danube.
    Jacob Mikanowski, Harper's magazine, 21 July 2019
  • Those going up to him surely love Knight, but there are just as many others murmuring to friends about those flaws.
    Brody Miller, Indianapolis Star, 15 July 2017
  • While the first responders do their work, the onlookers murmur.
    BostonGlobe.com, 9 Oct. 2021
  • In the confusion, Adrian looked Cleo over first, murmuring to her.
    Katie Gutierrez, Longreads, 24 Sep. 2019
  • Passenger Ana Luisa Rivera can be heard murmuring a prayer in Spanish as her phone takes in the turmoil.
    oregonlive, 2 Feb. 2020
  • As Alabama’s offense tried to run down the clock, the crowd began murmuring for the ball to go back to Petty one final time.
    Mike Rodak | Mrodak@al.com, al, 18 Dec. 2019
  • Wittig said, as those in the audience murmured in agreement.
    Amy Lavalley, Post-Tribune, 24 May 2018
  • Where some artists might scream with rage, Twiggs murmurs about redemption: These nine souls sail up to heaven.
    Lawrence Toppman, charlotteobserver, 19 Jan. 2017
  • Like a Disney movie on acid, teapots and cutlery begin to murmur, scream and dictate to him; a beloved antique spoon laments its many losses.
    Mary Ann Gwinn, Los Angeles Times, 23 Sep. 2021
  • Fans murmured — or roared, in some cases — as columnists and critics posed sharp questions and players and coaching staffs changed.
    Alan Blinder, New York Times, 27 Dec. 2019
  • When Billy is strung up on a yardarm, the sailors murmur their discontent; a display of martial discipline staves off any threat of mutiny.
    Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 20 Oct. 2020
  • Drucker, who has published two novels, murmured something about a third book.
    Fergus McIntosh, The New Yorker, 16 Oct. 2023
  • But the feeling was mutual, as Jelly Roll later murmured, if only to himself, about the surrealness of the moment.
    Nekesa Mumbi Moody, The Hollywood Reporter, 7 Feb. 2024

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'murmur.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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