How to Use clatter in a Sentence

clatter

1 of 2 verb
  • The wagon clattered down the road.
  • The shutters clattered against the house.
  • The box dropped and dozens of marbles clattered across the floor.
  • He heard dishes clattering in the kitchen.
  • Andy clattered up the hill through the brush and pulled to a halt.
    — Bob Cary, Outdoor Life, 15 Oct. 2025
  • Moore was then clattered by Overath, and a free kick was awarded.
    — SI.com, 21 Mar. 2018
  • Soon, a boy driving a horse cart came down the lane and clattered past, a switch in his hand.
    — Jon Lee Anderson, Condé Nast Traveler, 21 Mar. 2018
  • Then, a mannequin clatters to the floor from the ceiling and breaks apart.
    — Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 20 Nov. 2025
  • Neither side wishes to let the ball fly past to clatter onto the floor.
    — Joyce Carol Oates, Harper's Magazine, 10 July 2023
  • Bottles and beer cans flew, a handful clattering off the sides of the bus.
    — Rory Smith, New York Times, 4 Apr. 2018
  • Suburban trains clatter back and forth along the southern edge of the park.
    — Literary Hub, 4 Sep. 2025
  • The flogger clatters onto the floor and his hand moves over my belly and up to my breasts.
    — Patti Greco, Cosmopolitan, 3 Jan. 2018
  • During the fight, a knife clattered onto the subway car’s floor, cops said.
    — Thomas Tracy, New York Daily News, 27 Mar. 2026
  • Still off camera, something is heard clattering on the floor.
    — Jordan Culver, USA TODAY, 27 Aug. 2019
  • The Frenchman clattered into him and was booked.
    — Liam Twomey, New York Times, 18 Aug. 2025
  • Sloane’s hand went lax on the handle, and the knife clattered to the floor, bouncing between their feet.
    — David Canfield, EW.com, 30 Sep. 2019
  • Deacon clatters off in his truck, leaving me to contemplate my new home.
    — Rowan Jacobsen, Harpers Magazine, 24 Oct. 2025
  • Zinc roofs clattered lightly against each other in the wind, the only sound in the village.
    — Pelumi Salako, Los Angeles Times, 6 Feb. 2026
  • In another room, a plastic light cover clattered to the floor.
    — Leah Sottile, Longreads, 15 July 2019
  • On top of that, the sounds from the Metra and L trains came clattering through the walls.
    — Domenica Bongiovanni, Indianapolis Star, 26 June 2019
  • Each step sends shards of stone clattering downhill, debris once sealed beneath glacial ice.
    — Molly Hunter, NBC news, 19 Aug. 2025
  • The noise continued, as a larger piece of the chime continued to clatter in the wind.
    — Ashley Vega, PEOPLE, 22 Apr. 2026
  • The yelps and chatter of a nursery school recess clattered down from a small hill overlooking the scene.
    — Matthew Futterman, New York Times, 26 Jan. 2026
  • Skeletor is all pixels with a clattering jaw perfect for chewing the scenery.
    — Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 3 June 2026
  • On rough pavement, my molars clattered from the stiff ride on its noninflatable tires.
    — Wired, 24 Sep. 2019
  • Students set up street parties, commuters honked their horns and grandmothers clattered their pots and pans.
    — Tom Ball, The New Republic, 1 July 2019
  • Subway trains clattered along their tracks, their doors squealing open to disgorge crowds of passengers.
    — Ryan Lenora Brown, The Christian Science Monitor, 20 Apr. 2020
  • Each time a player shakes the grid, the dice clatter around and settle into a new arrangement of letters.
    — Katie McCormick, Quanta Magazine, 8 Dec. 2021
  • Washington dived forward to snag the errant throw before clattering to the blue turf with it still in his grasp.
    — Shaun Goodwin, Idaho Statesman, 23 Nov. 2025
  • Cere looked up into the Fifth Brother's shocked eyes as the tiny pieces of what was once his lightsaber clattered to the floor.
    — Dalton Ross, EW.com, 16 Feb. 2023

clatter

2 of 2 noun
  • Both crash to the floor with a loud clatter.
    — Literary Hub, 11 June 2026
  • No clatter of boots and ankles.
    — Joshua Kloke, New York Times, 23 June 2026
  • Saws buzz, trucks beep, and hammers clatter.
    — Aarne Heikkila, NBC news, 14 May 2026
  • At dinner that night, the mess was silent save for the clatter of forks on plates.
    — Ben Ehrenreich, The New Republic, 17 Oct. 2019
  • The noise in the dining room is little more than a low hum against the clatter of plates and cups.
    — Justin Phillips, SFChronicle.com, 13 Sep. 2019
  • The stillness was shattered by its whining clatter and the buzz of the prop.
    — Smithsonian Magazine, 17 Aug. 2023
  • The room was buzzing with dudes grunting over the clatter of metal on metal.
    — Gray Chapman, SELF, 8 Sep. 2018
  • Cooking is done beneath the floor, to prevent the clatter of pots and pans.
    — Dexter Filkins, The New Yorker, 30 Mar. 2018
  • There will also be the honk of late-night traffic and the clatter of passing trains.
    — Boyce Upholt, Outside Online, 27 Mar. 2020
  • Dusk is a clatter of late arrivals, new tents being pitched, and attempts to sleep.
    — Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, 15 Apr. 2023
  • The hot sizzle of the wok, the clatter of pans, add a righteous soundtrack to the meal.
    — Roger Naylor, AZCentral.com, 6 Dec. 2025
  • The music is one part lumbering low-end and one part brittle clatter.
    — John Adamian, courant.com, 28 Apr. 2018
  • Bitcoin usually comes up amid the clink and clatter of cutlery and plates.
    — Vildana Hajric, Fortune, 23 Nov. 2021
  • There are outbursts of men shouting and the clatter of bowling pins falling.
    — Chris Serres, Star Tribune, 27 Feb. 2021
  • In spirit if not in distance, this is about as far as a guy can get from the bang and clatter of the film business.
    — Matthew Hennessey, WSJ, 16 June 2017
  • And, unlike the clatter of balls, that sound is music to the fashion-loving ears.
    — Frances Solá-Santiago, refinery29.com, 17 Aug. 2023
  • The clatter of drums and horns drowned up much of the group's proselytizing.
    — Eder Campuzano, OregonLive.com, 9 June 2018
  • Finally, with one big wave, the joints loosened and the boards gave way with a sodden clatter.
    — Elisabeth Egan, chicagotribune.com, 10 June 2017
  • At lunchtime, there’s a clatter as some teens joke to one another across the cafeteria.
    — San Diego Union-Tribune, 3 Oct. 2019
  • Moderate, though there’s a pleasant background hum and clatter of carts at peak dim sum hours.
    — Kate Washington, sacbee, 25 May 2018
  • Someone heard the bird’s clatter and saw what was likely Tiki, but then lost sight of her.
    — Erika Pesantes, Sun-Sentinel.com, 12 June 2018
  • Just the check, the soft clatter of plates and that lingering smell of basil and coconut that follows you out the door.
    — Timothy Depeugh, Charlotte Observer, 8 Apr. 2026
  • The clink of ice in a glass, the clatter of a good shake, the smooth stream of a measured pour — the sounds of cocktail hour can be a balm.
    — Rebekah Peppler, Los Angeles Times, 27 May 2021
  • Even the ordinary clatter of life seems to fall into rhythm with something sacred.
    — Zeyneb Sayilgan, Washington Post, 17 Feb. 2026
  • The noises of the city—street venders, horses’ hooves, the clatter of carts, songs and arguments—filled the air.
    — Salman Rushdie, The New Yorker, 5 Dec. 2022
  • Conveyor belts then carried the rocks to a metal ramp that dropped them with a clatter into the ship’s hold.
    — WIRED, 28 Feb. 2023
  • In the streets of the neighborhood, a firefight was picking up, and the clatter of machine guns echoed about.
    — Andrew E. Kramer Nicole Tung, New York Times, 9 Jan. 2023
  • An espresso machines whirls and whooshes, coins clatter in a cash register, bags scrape along the floor.
    — Deanna Pan, BostonGlobe.com, 17 Aug. 2019
  • Despite the pall, Ukrainians have found ways to preserve affairs of the heart amid the clatter of war.
    — Jeff Stein, Samantha Schmidt and Kostiantyn Khudov, Anchorage Daily News, 4 Jan. 2023
  • Flames roar up the sides of pans, pots clatter like artillery, slabs of beef are dragged and hoisted like casualties.
    — James Poniewozik, New York Times, 26 Dec. 2022

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'clatter.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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