What does clatter mean?
Clatter is both a noun and a verb describing a distinctive kind of noise: the continuous rattling or banging produced when hard objects strike one another. Dropping a stack of plates, a bucket rolling across a floor, or a horse trotting over cobblestones all produce a clatter. As a verb, it can describe making such a sound ('the dishes clattered into the sink') or moving with that sound ('the riders clattered down the stone road'). The word carries no strong emotional charge; it is neutral in register and equally at home in casual conversation and descriptive writing. Its most frequent companions are everyday hard objects — dishes, pans, tools, hooves — which makes it especially useful for vivid, sensory description of kitchens, stables, workshops, and busy streets. Related to words like clack and click, it belongs to a family of English terms built around sharp percussive sounds.
A rattling, banging noise produced by hard objects repeatedly striking one another.
"The sudden clatter of the falling ladder echoed through the warehouse."
Often used with 'of' to specify the source: 'a clatter of hooves', 'the clatter of cutlery'.
To make or move with a rapid series of rattling or banging sounds.
"The shutters clattered in the wind all night."
Usually intransitive; transitive use ('to clatter the pots about') is less common.
As a plural noun, 'clatters' refers to multiple instances of rattling noise, though singular use is far more common.
"We heard several clatters coming from the kitchen as the chef worked."
The word 'clatter' echoes in Middle English from the fourteenth century — it has been describing the crash of dropped pots and galloping hooves for over six hundred years.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of clatter
Clatter comes from Middle English 'clatren', meaning to make a rattling noise, and appears in English texts from around the fourteenth century. It is related to other imitative words beginning with 'cla-' that mimic sharp percussive sounds, such as clack and click. The word's form suggests a common Germanic origin for this family of sound-imitating terms.
Related word forms
How clatter is actually used
Both noun and verb uses are common and neutral in register. As a verb, 'clatter' is usually intransitive and often describes things falling, dishes being handled, or animals moving on hard ground.
Easily confused with clatter
Chatter refers to rapid, informal talk (or the sound of teeth knocking), while clatter refers to the harsh rattling noise of hard objects striking each other.