mmmmph.

n.  a sound mumbled through a gag or a mouth taped shut.

<“Mmmmph!” cried Shannon.  “Are you okay?” [George] whispered, grabbing Shannon’s gag and pulling it down.  —Chris Archer, Eye of Eternity.> <“Mmmmph,” I said.  It was the best I could do through the duct tape.  —Howard Roughan, The Promise of a Lie.>

n.  a sound of annoyance; a complaint.

<“You’re awake, I see.”  Anna made a complaining mmmmph through her shut mouth and shut her eyes.  —Robert Ludlum, The Sigma Protocol.>

n.  a sound of approval; a signification that one is impressed.

<“Mmmmph, I’m impressed” Carla signified.  —Brenda Wilkinson, “My Sweet Sixteenth,” Join In: Multiethnic Short Stories.>

n.  a swallowing sound.

<Ashley grabbed the grape and stuffed it into Mary-Kate’s mouth. ... “MMMMPH!” Mary-Kate gulped.  —Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, The Sleepover Secret.>

n.  a vocalized pause, as when one is thinking of the right word to use.

<Your slang changes more rapid, and your culture style has encourage more, mmmmph, more shattering?  —Arthur Phillips, Prague: A Novel.>

n.  an expression of enjoyment or sensual delight.

<She reached her hand down to stroke his leg.  “Mmmmph.”  —Dale Brown, Dale Brown’s Dreamland: Piranha.>

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