sputter

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
sputter/ˈspʌtə(r)/

▶verb

• 1 make a series of soft explosive sounds.

• 2 speak in a series of incoherent bursts.

• 3 Physics deposit (metal) on a surface by using fast ions to eject particles of it from a target.

▶noun a sputtering sound.

– derivatives
sputterer noun.

– origin C16: from Du. sputteren, of imitative origin.