clatter
1 of 2verb
clat·ter ˈkla-tər 
clattered; clattering; clatters
intransitive verb
1
: to make a rattling sound
the dishes clattered on the shelf
2
: to talk noisily or rapidly
3
: to move or go with a clatter
clattered down the stairs
transitive verb
: to cause to clatter
clatterer
ˈkla-tər-ər
noun clatteringly
ˈkla-tə-riŋ-lē
adverb clatter
2 of 2noun
1
: a rattling sound (as of hard bodies striking together)
the clatter of pots and pans
2
: commotion
the midday clatter of the business district
3
: noisy chatter
clattery
ˈkla-tə-rē
adjective 
Synonyms
Verb
- clack
- rattle
Noun
- ado
- alarums and excursions
- ballyhoo
- blather
- bluster
- bobbery
- bother
- bustle
- clutter [chiefly dialect]
- coil
- commotion
- corroboree [Australian]
- disturbance
- do [chiefly dialect]
- foofaraw
- fun
- furor
- furore
- fuss
- helter-skelter
- hoo-ha
- hoo-hah
- hoopla
- hubble-bubble
- hubbub
- hullabaloo
- hurly
- hurly-burly
- hurricane
- hurry
- hurry-scurry
- hurry-skurry
- kerfuffle [chiefly British]
- moil
- pandemonium
- pother
- row
- ruckus
- ruction
- rumpus
- shindy
- splore [Scottish]
- squall
- stew
- stir
- storm
- to-do
- tumult
- turmoil
- uproar
- welter
- whirl
- williwaw
- zoo
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
Verb The shutters clattered against the house. He heard dishes clattering in the kitchen. The box dropped and dozens of marbles clattered across the floor. The wagon clattered down the road. Noun the clatter of a crowded cafeteria
Recent Examples on the Web
Katie Mccormick, Quanta Magazine, 8 Dec. 2021 The Avengers Campus offers plenty of the superheroes' souvenirs, from apparel and figurines to the Spider-Bots, which clatter around on eight legs at the flick of remote control. Paul Vercammen, CNN, 2 June 2021 In that part of the world, both governments and their opponents know that mass protest is rarely polite; when anger boils over, people clatter over walls, break things, fight cops. Star Tribune, 11 Jan. 2021 In Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone, thousands of tailors usually work from tiny studios tucked between barber shops and corner stores, or in clattering rows in the fabric section of markets. Ryan Lenora Brown, The Christian Science Monitor, 3 June 2020 Subway trains clattered along their tracks, their doors squealing open to disgorge crowds of passengers. Ryan Lenora Brown, The Christian Science Monitor, 20 Apr. 2020 At a section of uneven sidewalk, the robot paused, as if in thought, before clattering over the break. Washington Post, 2 Apr. 2020 Like his predecessors for nearly 200 years, General Kelley and his wife lived in elegance in a historic Washington residence with high ceilings, crystal chandeliers, a reputed ghost and a view of parade grounds clattering with ceremonial drills. New York Times, 31 Dec. 2019 Gizmo clattered up to him with his favorite toy, a velvet bone, and Hendrix chuckled. Kevin Fagan, SFChronicle.com, 28 Nov. 2019 Amy Drew Thompson, Orlando Sentinel, 27 July 2022 The songs clatter, wobble, and lurch into one another while Beyoncé wavers between singing and doing silly voices, in multitrack. Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 29 July 2022 Amid the roar of artillery, the clatter of small arms and bone-rattling explosions, Times photographers have borne graphic witness to the fight to survive and kill — or just survive. New York Times, 1 June 2022 The tables are a-clatter and the mood is wonderfully chill. Los Angeles Times, 9 June 2022 Unlike knights of old, however, there is little clatter from the chassis. Tribune News Service, cleveland, 21 May 2022 Kitchen-sink drama, the genre that brought social realism to the stage in a clatter of dirty dishes, is widely dismissed as a mid-20th century relic. Charles Mcnultytheater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 25 Mar. 2022 In Japanese houses, the sound was an unrelenting clatter of metal and glass. Bruce Barcott, Outside Online, 25 Aug. 2011 Who had inspired this scene from which arose such a clatter? Marc Ramirez, USA TODAY, 24 Dec. 2021 See More
Verb
Each time a player shakes the grid, the dice clatter around and settle into a new arrangement of letters. Katie Mccormick, Quanta Magazine, 8 Dec. 2021 The Avengers Campus offers plenty of the superheroes' souvenirs, from apparel and figurines to the Spider-Bots, which clatter around on eight legs at the flick of remote control. Paul Vercammen, CNN, 2 June 2021 In that part of the world, both governments and their opponents know that mass protest is rarely polite; when anger boils over, people clatter over walls, break things, fight cops. Star Tribune, 11 Jan. 2021 In Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone, thousands of tailors usually work from tiny studios tucked between barber shops and corner stores, or in clattering rows in the fabric section of markets. Ryan Lenora Brown, The Christian Science Monitor, 3 June 2020 Subway trains clattered along their tracks, their doors squealing open to disgorge crowds of passengers. Ryan Lenora Brown, The Christian Science Monitor, 20 Apr. 2020 At a section of uneven sidewalk, the robot paused, as if in thought, before clattering over the break. Washington Post, 2 Apr. 2020 Like his predecessors for nearly 200 years, General Kelley and his wife lived in elegance in a historic Washington residence with high ceilings, crystal chandeliers, a reputed ghost and a view of parade grounds clattering with ceremonial drills. New York Times, 31 Dec. 2019 Gizmo clattered up to him with his favorite toy, a velvet bone, and Hendrix chuckled. Kevin Fagan, SFChronicle.com, 28 Nov. 2019 Noun
The all-day, fast-casual mode at Meats has been decidedly different from the clatter and thrum of the places in which Hillis’ and Parker’s cooking styles were forged. Amy Drew Thompson, Orlando Sentinel, 27 July 2022 The songs clatter, wobble, and lurch into one another while Beyoncé wavers between singing and doing silly voices, in multitrack. Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 29 July 2022 Amid the roar of artillery, the clatter of small arms and bone-rattling explosions, Times photographers have borne graphic witness to the fight to survive and kill — or just survive. New York Times, 1 June 2022 The tables are a-clatter and the mood is wonderfully chill. Los Angeles Times, 9 June 2022 Unlike knights of old, however, there is little clatter from the chassis. Tribune News Service, cleveland, 21 May 2022 Kitchen-sink drama, the genre that brought social realism to the stage in a clatter of dirty dishes, is widely dismissed as a mid-20th century relic. Charles Mcnultytheater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 25 Mar. 2022 In Japanese houses, the sound was an unrelenting clatter of metal and glass. Bruce Barcott, Outside Online, 25 Aug. 2011 Who had inspired this scene from which arose such a clatter? Marc Ramirez, USA TODAY, 24 Dec. 2021 See More Word History
Etymology
Verb
Middle English clatren, from Old English *clatrian; of imitative origin
First Known Use
Verb
13th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1
Noun
14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Kids Definition
clatter 1 of 2
verb
clat·ter ˈkla-tər
clattered; clattering
1
: to make or cause to make a rattling sound
Dishes clattered in the kitchen.
2
: to move or go with a rattling sound
The cart clattered down the road.
clatter
2 of 2noun
1
: a rattling sound (as of hard objects striking together)
the clatter of pots and pans
2
: commotion
She … burst into the schoolroom with such a noise and a clatter that Tommy and Annika … jumped in their seats. Astrid Lindgren, Pippi Longstocking
Astrid Lindgren, Pippi Longstockingclattered
verb
as in rattled
to make a series of short sharp noises horses' hooves clattering on the pavement Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- rattled
- clacked
- clicked
- clinked
- clashed
- clanked
- chirped
- clanged
- chinked
- sputtered
- spattered
- crashed
- clopped
- racketed
- clop-clopped
- clip-cloped