clatter

From Middle English clatren (“to make a rattling sound”), from Old English *clatrian (attested as the Late Old English gerund clatrung), of onomatopoeic origin. Compare Dutch klateren, kletteren.

The noun, derived from the verb, is first attested in the 14^th century.

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈklætɚ/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈklætə/

  • Audio (Southern England):

    (file)

• Rhymes: -ætə(ɹ)
• Hyphenation: clat‧ter

clatter (third-person singular simple present clatters, present participle clattering, simple past and past participle clattered)

1. (intransitive) To make a rattling sound.
   • 1728, Jonathan Swift, “A Dialogue between Mad Mullinix and Timothy”, in Thomas Sheridan, John Nichols, editors, The Works of the Rev. Jonathan Swift, , new edition, volume VII, London: J Johnson,  Nichols, R Baldwin, Otridge and Son, J Sewell, F and C Rivington, T Payne, R Faulder, G and J Robinson, R Lea, J Nunn, W. Cuthell, T Egerton, Clarke and Son, Vernor and Hood, J Scatcherd, T Kay, Lackington Allen and Co., Carpenter and Co., Murray and Highley, Longman and Rees, Cadell Jun. and Davies, T. Bagster, J. Harding, and J Mawman.">…], published 1801, →OCLC, page 403:

     When all the bees are gone to settle, / You clatter still your brazen kettle.

   • 1883, Howard Pyle, “Robin Hood Turns Butcher”, in The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood , New York, N.Y.: Charles Scribner’s Sons , →OCLC, part second, page 49:

     When he came to Nottingham, he entered that part of the market where butchers stood, and took up his inn in the best place he could find. Next, he opened his stall and spread his meat upon the bench, then, taking his cleaver and steel and clattering them together, he trolled aloud in merry tones:

   • 1906 August, Alfred Noyes, “The Highwayman”, in Poems, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., published October 1906, →OCLC, part 1, stanza III, page 46:

     Over the cobbles he clattered and clashed in the dark inn-yard, / And he tapped with his whip on the shutters, but all was locked and barred;

   • 1971, Gwen White, Antique Toys And Their Background, page 127:

     was not a little gentleman's game but was played by boys in heavy boots making a terrific noise as they clattered along on the pavements at quite a speed.

2. (intransitive) To chatter noisily or rapidly.
   • c. 1515–1516, published 1568, John Skelton, Againſt venemous tongues enpoyſoned with ſclaunder and falſe detractions &c.:

     But if that I knewe what his name hight, / For clatering of me I would him ſone quight; / For his falſe lying, of that I ſpake never, / I could make him ſhortly repent him forever:

   • 1579, Immeritô , “Iulye. Ægloga Septima.”, in The Shepheardes Calender: , London: Hugh Singleton, , →OCLC, folio 29, recto:

     Here is a great deale of good matter, / loſt for lacke of telling, / Now ſicker I see, thou doeſt but clatter: / harme may come of melling.

3. (Northern England) To hit; to smack.
   • 1988, Harry Enfield, Friday Night Live:

     "I can't watch it because I have to go outside and clatter someone in the nuts!”

   • 2010, Gerald Hansen, Hand in the Till:

     “An Orange bitch clattered seven shades of shite out of her,” Padraig eagerly piped up.

clatter (plural clatters)

1. A rattling noise; a repetition of abrupt, sharp sounds.
   • 1907 January, Harold Bindloss, chapter 7, in The Dust of Conflict, 1st Canadian edition, Toronto, Ont.: McLeod & Allen, →OCLC:

     The patter of feet, and clatter of strap and swivel, seemed to swell into a bewildering din, but they were almost upon the fielato offices, where the carretera entered the town, before a rifle flashed.

   • 2017 June 26, Alexis Petridis, “Glastonbury 2017 verdict: Radiohead, Foo Fighters, Lorde, Stormzy and more”, in the Guardian‎:

     There was something distinctly low-key, even wilfully alienating about the band’s performance. A scattering of OK Computer tracks were interspersed with more abstract latterday material – the clatter of 15 Step and Myxamatosis.

   • 1978, William Cookson, Agenda‎, volume 16, number 1 - v. 18, Poets and Painters Press, →OCLC, page 7:

     ... disintegrated Incredibly , pitched your clattering pieces to the bottom stair Of intellect , insisting that you start Again . Or proud - flesh , clotted mental pores , might claim Authentic miracle only to decry it . Campanulas .

2. A loud disturbance.
3. Noisy talk or chatter.
4. (Ireland, informal) A large group, especially of sibling children; a lot
   • 1970 December 22, “Women First; Contraception: what do you think?”, in The Irish Times, page 6:

     a young mother with a clatter of kids told me ... her Catholic doctor refused point-blank to advise other than the rhythm method.

   • 1985, Emma Cooke, Eve's Apple, Blackstaff Press, →ISBN, page 20:

     There haven't been any men for years. The last one I can remember was a hairy old ballad singer who, it turned out, had a wife and a clatter of kids.

   • 2012 July 24, Dominic Coyle, “Business Q&A: No reason to pay PRSI for benefits you don’t need”, in The Irish Times:

     There are a clatter of other PRSI classes. E is for Church of Ireland ministers only. H relates to enlisted military personnel and non-commissioned officers.

   • 2017 June 12, Darragh McManus, “Goodbye House: RTE's latest reality show is kind of terrible but also sweet and touching”, in Irish Independent:

     The children are ... all in early middle-age, which means a clatter of grandchildren, as well as her own offspring, descend on Rosemarie’s house on a regular basis.

   • 2019 June 6, Alanna Gallagher, “Artisan one-bed in Dublin 4 has thought of everything for €450k”, in The Irish Times:

     The artisan redbrick cottages that line the streets off Barrow Street in Ringsend, Dublin 4 are pretty to look at, but, while historically clatters of kids have been reared within their walls, they can seem a bit compact for modern living.

   • 2020 February 1, Marian Keyes, “Am I ever going to feel like a grown-up?”, in The Irish Times:

     We assume that because a person has been elected to the Dáil or because they have a clatter of compliant, photo-ready children or they’re in a helicopter and their nickname is Slasher Larkin, their every utterance is gospel.

5. Alternative form of clitter; scree.
   • 1887, William Crossing, The Ancient Crosses of Dartmoor, Exeter: James G Commin, page 45:

     Clatter, or, as it is sometimes called, Clitter, is the name given to the confused masses of granite rocks that are so frequently seen covering large areas of ground on the hill sides of the moor, or clustering around the bases of many of the tors.

• commotion
• racket

• Douglas Harper (2001–2025) “clatter”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
• “clatter”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.