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
Mie Hoejris Dahl, The Christian Science Monitor, 26 July 2024
The final look epitomised this, with a garment made from 350 sourced, cleaned, sanded, drilled, linked, and draped oyster shells and slowly shuffled down the runway, with the sound of shells clattering together and scraping along the concrete runway.
—Angela Law, refinery29.com, 15 May 2024
Ghada Abdulfattah, The Christian Science Monitor, 16 Aug. 2024
Fencing at the historic Grand Palais figures to get pretty loud, what with the clatter of blades and referees barking commands, the rumble of the crowd echoing off vaulted glass ceilings.
—David Wharton, Los Angeles Times, 27 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for clatter 
Verb
Sitting on a battered bus that clatters through a former government stronghold here on a recent morning, passengers casually discuss the upcoming presidential election – something unheard of in public even a year ago.
—Mie Hoejris Dahl, The Christian Science Monitor, 26 July 2024
The final look epitomised this, with a garment made from 350 sourced, cleaned, sanded, drilled, linked, and draped oyster shells and slowly shuffled down the runway, with the sound of shells clattering together and scraping along the concrete runway.
—Angela Law, refinery29.com, 15 May 2024
Noun
Now, in Gaza, even a child can distinguish the differences of the buzz of the drones that fly all day and night over our heads, the roar of F-16 fighter jets, and the clatter of Apache helicopters.
—Ghada Abdulfattah, The Christian Science Monitor, 16 Aug. 2024
Fencing at the historic Grand Palais figures to get pretty loud, what with the clatter of blades and referees barking commands, the rumble of the crowd echoing off vaulted glass ceilings.
—David Wharton, Los Angeles Times, 27 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for clatter
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'clatter.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near clatter
Cite this Entry
“Clatter.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/clatter. Accessed 15 Sep. 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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