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
Stuart James, The Athletic, 17 Jan. 2025
Photo: Liam Freeman The atelier, where the shuttles of weaving looms clatter rhythmically, is Norlha’s beating heart.
—Liam Freeman, Vogue, 27 Nov. 2024
Claire Turrell, Smithsonian Magazine, 7 Feb. 2025
Restaurants are noisier than ever, with each clatter and shout threatening our health (not to mention our sanity).
—Jessica Iredale, airmail.news, 6 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for clatter 
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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Verb
The bell rings for a second time and the players get up from their seats, cajole one another and walk down the tunnel, studs clattering and adrenaline pumping.
—Stuart James, The Athletic, 17 Jan. 2025
Photo: Liam Freeman The atelier, where the shuttles of weaving looms clatter rhythmically, is Norlha’s beating heart.
—Liam Freeman, Vogue, 27 Nov. 2024
Noun
The familiar clatter of the mahjong tiles being slammed against the table is drowned out by the sounds played by the DJ traveling through the warehouse.
—Claire Turrell, Smithsonian Magazine, 7 Feb. 2025
Restaurants are noisier than ever, with each clatter and shout threatening our health (not to mention our sanity).
—Jessica Iredale, airmail.news, 6 Dec. 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 16 Feb. 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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