clatter
Americanverb (used without object)
-
clatters,
present (3rd person singular)
-
clattered,
past participle, past
-
clattering
present participle
-
to make a loud, rattling sound, as that produced by hard objects striking rapidly one against the other.
The shutters clattered in the wind.
-
to move rapidly with such a sound.
The iron-wheeled cart clattered down the street.
-
to talk fast and noisily; chatter.
They clattered on and on about their children.
verb (used with object)
-
clatters,
present (3rd person singular)
-
clattered,
past participle, past
-
clattering
present participle
noun
-
a rattling noise or series of rattling noises.
The stagecoach made a terrible clatter going over the wooden bridge.
-
noisy disturbance; din; racket.
-
noisy talk; din of voices.
They had to shout over the clatter at the cocktail party.
-
idle talk; gossip.
verb
-
to make or cause to make a rattling noise, esp as a result of movement
-
(intr) to chatter
noun
-
a rattling sound or noise
-
a noisy commotion, such as one caused by loud chatter
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
clattersimple
-
clatterssimple
-
have clatteredperfect
-
has clatteredperfect
-
am clatteringprogressive
-
are clatteringprogressive
-
is clatteringprogressive
-
have been clatteringperfect progressive
-
has been clatteringperfect progressive
Past
-
clatteredsimple
-
had clatteredperfect
-
was clatteringprogressive
-
were clatteringprogressive
-
had been clatteringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of clatter
before 1050; Middle English clateren, Old English clatr- (in clatrunge ); cognate with Dutch klateren to rattle; see -er 6
Explanation
A clatter is a clacking or rattling sound, like the clatter of horse hooves on pavement or the clatter of toys being thrown down a wooden staircase by an angry child. Clatter is also a verb, meaning "to make a continuous rattling or clanking sound." You might clatter down the school hallway in your clogs, or watch your dogs clatter across a frozen pond, their toenails clicking on the ice. Clatter comes from the Old English onomatopoeic clatrung, "a clattering," or simply "noise."
Vocabulary lists containing clatter
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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:
“Couture’s” three principals rarely interact with one another, but those meaningful exchanges argue that, amid the mad clatter of the everyday, a brief, unguarded moment with a stranger can be supremely restorative.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 26, 2026
At Encirc's Elton factory, where bottles clatter along the conveyor belts to be filled and labelled, executives say energy prices are inseparable from the push to decarbonise.
From Barron's ● Feb. 18, 2026
Saka's ability to take contact from defenders that clatter into the back of him is something he has mastered in the safer environment of the right wing and is invaluable centrally.
From BBC ● Feb. 16, 2026
Aromatics are where things begin: ginger, garlic, onions and their cousins; the soft clatter of mirepoix or soffritto; a bloom of spices warming in fat.
From Salon ● Feb. 8, 2026
There was a clatter of dishes, and after a while the talking stopped.
From "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter" by Carson McCullers
She watches a humanoid robot totter around a demonstration kitchen until it trips on a chair and clatters to the ground.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 8, 2026
The 19-year-old's quickest time on the board so far is a 1:18.667 and on his latest run, clatters the kerbs in the borrowed Haas.
From BBC ● May 16, 2024
A conveyor clatters as the last papers are carried to the bundlers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 10, 2024
But at the very moment of its triumphant recovery, the painting clatters to the floor, by simple accident.
From New York Times ● Jul. 22, 2021
The noises start to piece together, and I look up as a pan clatters against the stove.
From "King and the Dragonflies" by Kacen Callender
Busy markets sold butchered meats and fast-wilting vegetables, horse carts clattered, children shouted, and men and women gossiped in coffeehouses and read from printed newspapers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 6, 2026
But moments later Davide Bartesaghi clattered into Mikael Ellertsson, leaving Stanciu with the task of beating France goalkeeper Mike Maignan and taking a shock three points.
From Barron's ● Jan. 8, 2026
At 1-0 he clattered an effort against the underside of the crossbar, and at 1-1 had a thumping header hit the post.
From BBC ● Apr. 19, 2025
A tattooed skateboarder clattered over sidewalks, and a man sat on a bench in the shade, reading the Bible and taking notes near the opera house where the musical “Oklahoma” was playing.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2024
He dropped his stone as he ran; it clattered to the floor.
From Anya and the Nightingale by Sofiya Pasternack
Once it missed the dishwasher altogether, sending a plate clattering to the floor.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026
Andres Cubas escaped a booking after clattering into Adrien Rabiot.
From BBC ● Jul. 5, 2026
At the warehouse in Bangkok's Nonthaburi suburb, the sound of people rummaging through products and plastic crates clattering against shopping carts echoes through the building.
From Barron's ● Jun. 17, 2026
“Ups & Downs” is an instrumental with a droning keyboard—perhaps a harmonium—along with a clarinet and clattering percussion that sounds like a drum kit being slowly unpacked from its case.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 9, 2026
Then he drove off, down the street, away, the little black car clattering busily.
From "Homecoming" by Cynthia Voigt
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