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:
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
The clank of this supposed breakthrough idea is as inelegant as the meandering storytelling.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 11, 2025
"It feels like a prison," he says as the gates clank shut behind him.
From BBC ● Dec. 8, 2025
Rumble, wheeze, groan, roar, whoosh, clank, thud, creak and repeat — this, for me, is the onset of bus reverie.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 25, 2024
People shifted quietly on their cushions or pushed their plates away so they wouldn’t clank during the singing.
From "The Assassination of Brangwain Spurge" by M.T. Anderson and Eugene Yelchin
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
The only sounds in here are the slow, repetitive clanks of our spoons.
From "I Can Make This Promise" by Christine Day
“If they clanked, which a lot of them did.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026
Of his 32 swings, he sent 14 over the fence, including one that clanked off the roof of the right-field pavilion.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 15, 2025
“John Cage would like this,” she said, gesturing at us with the ever-present two cigarettes in her hand, as forks clanked on plates.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 12, 2024
He smiled as another shell clanked into the dumpster.
From New York Times ● Jul. 6, 2023
She clanked the door shut, circled again, more surely this time.
From "Typical American" by Gish Jen
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
As a bonus, I’d learn a few things while she availed herself of uninterrupted free time, which wasn’t really free, since I’d often hear a running vacuum or dishes clanking in the sink.
From Salon ● Jan. 30, 2026
The air thrums with the din of destruction — giant excavators clanking against steel beams, trucks bleating out warning signals as they back into position, green organic material whooshing out of hoses onto finished sites.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 20, 2025
The whole assembled group followed as Werfel carefully picked his way among the giant curls and shards of broken glass with Regibald, dressed in full armor, clanking behind him.
From "The Assassination of Brangwain Spurge" by M.T. Anderson and Eugene Yelchin
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