Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com

rataplan

American  
[rat-uh-plan] / ˌræt əˈplæn /

noun

  1. a sound of or as of the beating of a drum.

verb (used without object)

rataplanned, rataplanning

  1. to produce such a sound.

rataplan British  
/ ˌrætəˈplæn /

noun

  1. a drumming sound

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of rataplan

1840–50; < French; imitative

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.

With a rataplan and a paradiddle, U.S. radio last week opened its 1947-48 season.

From Time Magazine Archive

Last week, with no rataplan of drums, The Admiral and The Biscuit met at Pimlico.

From Time Magazine Archive

For half the evening, indeed�while its melodrama seemed crouching to spring�He had a jittery tension, a rataplan rhythm, a glare of circus lights and blare of circus music, that were theatrically vivid.

From Time Magazine Archive

They responded to the starter with a rataplan of cylinder explosions that soon mellowed into a roar.

From Time Magazine Archive

At that moment a little drummer appeared by the flagstaff, and beat a lively rataplan.

From The Red Acorn by McElroy, John

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.