pitapat
Americanadverb
noun
verb (used without object)
adverb
verb
noun
Etymology
Origin of pitapat
First recorded in 1515–25; imitative gradational compound
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.
And though Widow Precious felt her heart go pitapat at first sight of another Mrs. Mordacks, she made up her mind, with a gulp, not to let this cash go to the Thornwick.
From Mary Anerley : a Yorkshire Tale by Blackmore, R. D. (Richard Doddridge)
How his heart had gone pitapat when he had discovered it and had quietly, oh, so quietly, dropped his baited hook into the clear, spring water.
From A Son of the City A Story of Boy Life by Seely, Herman Gastrell
Anything like the sound of a rat Makes my heart go pitapat!
From The Land of Song, Book II For lower grammar grades by Various
In a moment there was a curious tearing sound, and then a pitapat on the ground about them.
From Under Fire For Servia by Fiske, Colonel James
It was when the comandante, Don Señor el Coronel Encarnacion Rios, looked upon the little saint seated in the shop and felt his heart go pitapat.
From Cabbages and Kings by Henry, O.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
