[Elamur Dictionary](https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/english/clatter/)

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# clatter

verb (clatter, clatters, clattered, clattering); noun (a clatter — usually singular)

«clatter» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. To clatter is to make a loud, rattling noise as hard things bang against each other, like falling pans or shoes on stairs. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/clatter/#m1)
2. A clatter is that loud, rattling noise. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/clatter/#m2)
3. To clatter somewhere is to move noisily («clatter down the stairs»). [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/clatter/#m3)

### In the lessons

In stories, a clatter tells the reader something fell or someone is arriving noisily: dishes, hooves, a dropped tray. In writing lessons it is an example of onomatopoeia, a word that sounds like its meaning. Everyday: the clatter of plates in the school canteen.

### Examples

- The pans clattered to the floor. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/clatter/#x1)
- We heard the clatter of horses' hooves on the road. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/clatter/#x2)
- He clattered down the stairs in his boots. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/clatter/#x3)
- The tray fell with a loud clatter. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/clatter/#x4)
- The train clattered over the bridge. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/clatter/#x5)
- There was a clatter of cutlery in the dining hall. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/clatter/#x6)
- The bike clattered when the chain came off. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/clatter/#x7)
- They rushed clattering into the hut, exclaiming, ‘We smell human flesh! [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/clatter/#x8)

### Note

Regular verb: clattered. Close to «rattle» and «clang»; «clatter» is many quick bangs. Do not confuse with «clutter» (a messy pile of things).

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «clatter» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/clatter/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«clatter» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/clatter.html) on Mova free.