clattered; clattering; clatters
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
: to cause to clatter
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
Synonyms
Verb
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
Examples of clatter in a Sentence
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
Chris Waugh, The Athletic, 17 Aug. 2024
Richard is sent overboard as the gun clatters onto the floor of the boat.
—Declan Gallagher, EW.com, 29 Oct. 2024
Ed Masley, The Arizona Republic, 22 Nov. 2024
From there things just keep happening, as one event unfolds into another in a headlong rush amid the incessant clatter of plates and pans and the machine spitting out endless order tickets.
—Mark Olsen, Los Angeles Times, 31 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for clatter 
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Verb
In that moment of hesitation, the ball still at his feet, Brereton Diaz clatters into him from behind, his elbow raised.
—Chris Waugh, The Athletic, 17 Aug. 2024
Richard is sent overboard as the gun clatters onto the floor of the boat.
—Declan Gallagher, EW.com, 29 Oct. 2024
Noun
Then Gordon Gano started singing, his vocals submerged in the bass-heavy clatter.
—Ed Masley, The Arizona Republic, 22 Nov. 2024
From there things just keep happening, as one event unfolds into another in a headlong rush amid the incessant clatter of plates and pans and the machine spitting out endless order tickets.
—Mark Olsen, Los Angeles Times, 31 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for clatter
Dictionary Entries Near clatter
Cite this Entry
“Clatter.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/clatter. Accessed 30 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
clatter
1 of 2 verb
clat·ter
ˈklat-ər 
1
: to make or cause to make a rattling sound
2
: to move with a clatter
clatter
2 of 2 noun1
: a rattling sound (as of hard objects striking together)
the clatter of pots and pans
3
: noisy chatter
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