clank
Americannoun
verb (used without object)
-
clanks,
present (3rd person singular)
-
clanked,
past participle, past
-
clanking
present participle
-
to make such a sound.
-
to move with such sounds.
The old jalopy clanked up the hill.
verb (used with object)
-
clanks,
present (3rd person singular)
-
clanked,
past participle, past
-
clanking
present participle
-
to cause to make a sharp sound, as metal in collision.
He clanked the shovel against the pail.
-
to place, put, set, etc., with a clank.
to clank the cell door shut.
noun
verb
-
to make or cause to make such a sound
-
(intr) to move or operate making such a sound
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
clanksimple
-
clankssimple
-
have clankedperfect
-
has clankedperfect
-
am clankingprogressive
-
are clankingprogressive
-
is clankingprogressive
-
have been clankingperfect progressive
-
has been clankingperfect progressive
Past
-
clankedsimple
-
had clankedperfect
-
was clankingprogressive
-
were clankingprogressive
-
had been clankingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of clank
First recorded in 1605–15, clank is from the Dutch word klank sound
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
However, the clank of granite went against them in the seventh, an unfortunate bounce leaving Canada the chance of three, which they gladly took.
From BBC ● Feb. 17, 2026
It’s already quite hot inside my shoebox apartment as the radiators clank away, drowning out my upstairs neighbor’s heavy footsteps with their cacophonous symphony.
From Salon ● Feb. 7, 2026
USC then drove to the 10-yard line with seconds left in the half, only for kicker Ryon Sayeri to clank a 27-yard field-goal attempt off the goalpost.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 22, 2025
The early scenes have a certain ponderous solemnity as two hunter-warrior-predator brothers from the Yautja race fight for honor with weapons that combine the clank of all things medieval with modern pizzazz.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2025
Pails would clank in the courtyard behind the house, the hose would be turned on the car, the little scullery-maid would begin to chatter through the open door to the men in the yard.
From "Rebecca" by Daphne du Maurier
Mr. Rasmussen makes Douglass’s conversion vivid and persuasive; Mr. Rebeiro exposes its jurisprudential machinery with impressive precision, even when that machinery clanks a little.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026
With sweaty insecurity, Tucker steps on his punchlines and clanks the setups.
From New York Times ● Mar. 5, 2024
In the bloopers, he clanks about 20 beforehand.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 15, 2023
Yet they can’t do any of this while Westbrook and his clanks and his complaining are allowed to create a sort of mud into which this shiny new car’s back tires are sinking.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 21, 2022
I take my jacket from the hook and put it on as Mrs. Brook pushes the bar on the door to the playground and it clanks open.
From "Mockingbird" by Kathryn Erskine
“If they clanked, which a lot of them did.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026
A couple of would-be interceptions that clanked off the hands of San Francisco defenders.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 13, 2024
Mittelstadt’s goal, batted out of the air, clanked off the front of the mask of Winnipeg’s Connor Hellebuyck, one of the league’s best goalies, off Jets defenseman Brenden Dillon and into the net.
From Seattle Times ● May 2, 2024
He smiled as another shell clanked into the dumpster.
From New York Times ● Jul. 6, 2023
The back of his chair rested against the old radiator Mr. Dyer never turned on because it clanked and banged like the sound of pylons being driven into concrete.
From "Tradition" by Brendan Kiely
As the din of clanking metal dims, the smell of grease and exhaust lingers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026
We watched him operate a vintage letterpress, the mechanisms whirring and clanking like a steam engine.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 2, 2026
"So that means we're going to see lights and hear lorries and cars and clanking about," says Jenny Upson, 74, a Felixstowe Road resident for 17 years.
From BBC ● Mar. 16, 2025
His first free throw went long, clanking off the back iron.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 28, 2025
Thus they wandered for some five minutes, standing still, listening, clanking, crouching, creeping, peering, walking on tiptoe, and occasionally making a chance swipe behind their hacks.
From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White
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