MEANING
To produce a series of noisy impacts from hard objects striking one another or a surface.
Use it for
Words that belong together
- footsteps clatter
- tools clatter
On the page
Footsteps clattered across the tiled landing.
The tools clattered into the tray when the shelf gave way.
Nearby words
Related words
Word forms
- Base
- clatter
- Past tense
- clattered
- Past participle
- clattered
- Present participle
- clattering
Full tense & aspect guide
- Present
- clatter
- Present continuous
- am/is/are clattering
- Present perfect
- have/has clattered
- Present perfect continuous
- have/has been clattering
- Past
- clattered
- Past continuous
- was/were clattering
- Past perfect
- had clattered
- Past perfect continuous
- had been clattering
- Future
- will clatter
- Future continuous
- will be clattering
- Future perfect
- will have clattered
- Future perfect continuous
- will have been clattering
Choose the auxiliary that agrees with your subject. These are constructions of one word, not separate entries.
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Usage notes
Primary category: horror. Forms: clatter; clatters; clattered; clattered; clattering Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Third-person singular: clatters.
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