clatter
[klat-er]
- 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.
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- to cause to clatter: clattering the pots and pans in the sink.
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- 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.
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Origin of clatter
before 1050; Middle English clateren, Old English clatr- (in clatrunge); cognate with Dutch klateren to rattle; see -er6
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for clattering
Contemporary Examples
Within a navy blue duffel bag were clattering bone-hued beads, amulets, and bracelets.
The sound made by clattering plates restores him to a restaurant where dined with his friend killed in the war.
Historical Examples
But it was only the strange man Geryon clattering onward, with his six legs!
The Three Golden ApplesNathaniel Hawthorne
There came a clattering of hoofs on the road and the sound of male voices.
In the ValleyHarold Frederic
Then there was a clattering on the cement floor as of a million arrows.
Buried Cities: Pompeii, Olympia, MycenaeJennie Hall
I was sitting by the window when I heard the clattering of their carriage.
A Hero of Our TimeM. Y. Lermontov
The pasteboard boxes went to the floor in a clattering rush.
ShavingsJoseph C. Lincoln
clatter
- to make or cause to make a rattling noise, esp as a result of movement
- (intr) to chatter
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- a rattling sound or noise
- a noisy commotion, such as one caused by loud chatter
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Word Origin
Old English clatrung clattering (gerund); related to Dutch klateren to rattle, German klatschen to smack, Norwegian klattra to knock
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for clattering
clatter
v.
late Old English clatrung "clattering, noise," verbal noun implying an Old English *clatrian, of imitative origin. Cf. Middle Dutch klateren, East Frisian klatern, dialectal German klattern. The noun is attested from mid-14c.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper