clatter

«clatter» in Mova's school dictionary: to make a loud, rattling noise as hard things bang… — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 3 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

part of speech

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

meaning for a pupil

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 →

2) A clatter is that loud, rattling noise. tree →

3) To clatter somewhere is to move noisily («clatter down the stairs»). tree →

sense 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 →
• We heard the clatter of horses' hooves on the road. tree →
• He clattered down the stairs in his boots. tree →
• The tray fell with a loud clatter. tree →
• The train clattered over the bridge. tree →
• There was a clatter of cutlery in the dining hall. tree →
• The bike clattered when the chain came off. tree →
• They rushed clattering into the hut, exclaiming, ‘We smell human flesh! tree →

note

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

In the corpora

• Real roadrunners do not say «meep meep»; they make soft cooing sounds and loud rattles by clattering their beaks.
• Storks hardly have a voice; they greet each other by throwing their heads back and clattering their bills like a wooden toy.
• White storks are almost silent and clatter their bills to greet each other, while chicks hiss and mew before they learn to clatter.

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «clatter» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.