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
Ayomide "mimi" Aborowa, Condé Nast Traveler, 9 Dec. 2024
Amen Dunes: Death Jokes Of course Damon McMahon followed Freedom—his sprawling, silvery slice of Americana—with an Amen Dunes album that rattles to warped lines of dialogue and clattering hip-hop beats.
—Madison Bloom, Pitchfork, 4 Dec. 2024
Christie Thompson, NPR, 18 Dec. 2024
Despite the crowd, the only sound that could be heard as Lopes was escorted to his seat between defense attorneys Larry Tipton and Christine Feeney at 10:05 a.m. was the metallic clatter of his cuffs.
—Flint McColgan, Boston Herald, 26 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for clatter 
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Verb
The park is alive, a symphony of music, clattering boards, and high spirits.
—Ayomide "mimi" Aborowa, Condé Nast Traveler, 9 Dec. 2024
Amen Dunes: Death Jokes Of course Damon McMahon followed Freedom—his sprawling, silvery slice of Americana—with an Amen Dunes album that rattles to warped lines of dialogue and clattering hip-hop beats.
—Madison Bloom, Pitchfork, 4 Dec. 2024
Noun
Marcos Santiago heard the clatter of metal chains outside cell 201 next door.
—Christie Thompson, NPR, 18 Dec. 2024
Despite the crowd, the only sound that could be heard as Lopes was escorted to his seat between defense attorneys Larry Tipton and Christine Feeney at 10:05 a.m. was the metallic clatter of his cuffs.
—Flint McColgan, Boston Herald, 26 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 18 Jan. 2025.
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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