rat-a-tat

noun

ˈra-tə-ˌtat 

variants or rat-a-tat-tat

ˌra-tə-ˌta(t)-ˈtat 

: a rapid succession of knocking, tapping, or cracking sounds

Examples of rat-a-tat in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Ritchie’s terrific rat-a-tat-tat script remains his best, performed by a cast at the height of their game. — Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 3 Sep. 2026

Nick Interlandi’s soundscapes swell with the rat-a-tat of machine guns, or zero in on the precise, satisfying crunch of glass cracking under bone, while Oren Soffer’s cinematography runs the gamut from sickly clinical to startlingly sensual. — Angie Han, HollywoodReporter, 31 Aug. 2026

Only the heel of a woman's oxford pump could make that sort of solid but somehow dainty rat-a-tat-tat. — Danielle Parker, CBS News, 9 June 2026

The very utterance of the pairing — Stabler to Biletnikoff — has a nice rat-a-tat-tat sound to it. — Steve Buckley, New York Times, 2 June 2026

Word History

Etymology

imitative

First Known Use

1681, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for rat-a-tat

• acrobat
• autocrat
• automat
• bundesrat
• bureaucrat
• butterfat
• caveat
• chemostat
• copycat
• cryostat
• democrat
• diplomat