How to Use patter in a Sentence

patter

1 of 2 verb
  • Young dancers clad in black leotards pattered gently across the stage to their places.
    — Bailey Reed, The Courier-Journal, 16 July 2024
  • Then comes an electric riff, some pattering drums, more singers.
    — Alex Suskind, Vulture, 6 June 2024
  • Then comes an electric riff, some pattering drums, more singers.
    — Alex Suskind, Vulture, 4 Dec. 2024
  • For a moment, the only sound was the rain pattering as night neared.
    — Eduardo Cuevas, USA Today, 12 Apr. 2025
  • The rain kept pattering down, and the pygmies began to call each other in a long chirrup.
    — Jessica Camille Aguirre, Smithsonian Magazine, 6 Jan. 2025
  • The droplets of rain on the stage jumped as each of her feet pattered on the LED screen stage.
    — Bryan West, USA TODAY, 21 Oct. 2024
  • Morning brought rain, pattering on the rooftop, soothing and monsoon-y.
    — John Bowe, Travel + Leisure, 18 Oct. 2023
  • In the run-up to evening events, the hotel’s long hallways had the vibe of a college dorm, with barefoot teens pattering from room to room.
    — Dionne Searcey, New York Times, 25 Mar. 2025
  • For example, someone may not notice a clock ticking in the corner of the room if rain is pattering on the roof.
    — IEEE Spectrum, 6 Dec. 2016
  • The rain had tapered down overnight, just softly pattering on rooftops by Friday morning.
    — Théoden Janes, Charlotte Observer, 26 Feb. 2025
  • But pattering your autoloader at the range is only the beginning.
    — Joe Genzel, Outdoor Life, 15 Oct. 2020
  • Rain pattered against windows and rattled off rooftops, sending streams of water across sidewalks and cobblestone streets and into gutters.
    — Les Carpenter, Washington Post, 31 July 2024
  • The interview was interrupted multiple times because of rain pattering against the barn roof where it was being held.
    — Emily Chang, ABC News, 7 June 2026
  • Military trucks and stacks of orange buoys line the riverbank and helicopters patter high overhead, a mix of state and federal entities.
    — Rick Jervis, USA TODAY, 31 Jan. 2024
  • On the day of my visit, the heads of the organization had gathered to plot out the future of their movement, a light rain pattering at the windows of their conference room.
    — Simon Shuster / Vilnius, TIME, 17 Apr. 2024
  • Benito finds community with the like-minded Pleneros de la Cresta, who have been playing the island’s pattering folk music for over a decade.
    — Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 2 Dec. 2025
  • Details like water overflowing from the bathtub, rain pattering on a window, a phone ringing and a piano playing contributed to the realism of the experience.
    — Luisa Zargani, Footwear News, 7 Apr. 2025
  • Timbaland’s programming is at warp level, with pattering percussion across drum heads, yielding a crowd-pleaser that Elliott carries at a galloping pace.
    — Steven J. Horowitz, Vulture, 11 Apr. 2025
  • As rain pattered against windows, and trees lining the streets swayed, flurries of urgent texts began ricocheting from one end of the neighborhood to the other, and panic set in as some residents put on their shoes and hurried out the door.
    — Danya Gainor, CNN Money, 24 Oct. 2025
  • One of the most impressive aspects is a mix of its seasonal and weather systems, with spring buds, fall colors and blanketing snow, mixed with high winds and rainstorms pattering drops on my DualSense controller.
    — Paul Tassi, Forbes.com, 27 Mar. 2025
  • Big shot guests popped up in the studio audience, including the actors Bryan Cranston, Paul Rudd, and Ryan Reynolds, who did a few bits and pattered about the host going off air; Colbert moved through the usual jokes about the day’s news.
    — David Sims, The Atlantic, 22 May 2026
  • Produced by the in-demand neo-traditional maverick Dave Cobb, the album revolves around springily strummed acoustic guitar, pattering percussion, and Lewis’s crisp singing — fittingly sunny music for the final days of spring and first of summer.
    — Vulture, 9 June 2023

patter

2 of 2 noun
  • My 8-year-old heart went pitter patter.
    — Lynette Rice, Deadline, 15 Aug. 2025
  • The pitter patter of the water centered my mind—and my soul.
    — Kimberly Zapata, Parents, 9 Dec. 2025
  • There were just a couple of slight changes in his on-stage patter Tuesday.
    — Chris Willman, Variety, 10 Apr. 2026
  • The same restless energy, the same quick patter, the same easy style.
    — David Treuer, The Atlantic, 1 Aug. 2022
  • That first crack of thunder, the patter of rain on rooftops and the brief but glorious cooldown.
    — Hayleigh Evans, AZCentral.com, 4 July 2025
  • There’s a meme for times like these, when cool air blows and rain showers pitter patter outside.
    — Caleb Pershan, San Francisco Chronicle, 8 Nov. 2022
  • Sense the gentle thrum of panic in your chest, and hear the patter of the drill in the street beyond.
    — Cora Frazier, The New Yorker, 16 Jan. 2023
  • Great speeches, and even greater presenter patter for a change.
    — Pete Hammond, Deadline, 2 Mar. 2026
  • Rather than a large dump of rain falling on a few days, there’s been a steady pitter patter, day after day.
    — Morgan Krakow, Anchorage Daily News, 19 Aug. 2022
  • The tune is jaunty, but this is the kind of patter that, in Wilson’s work, floats above a grave.
    — Sara Holdren, Vulture, 26 Apr. 2026
  • Plant was serious about his music, but playful in some of his stage patter.
    — George Varga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 24 Nov. 2025
  • His patter off the field was equally relentless.
    — Mike Hendricks, Kansas City Star, 14 Aug. 2025
  • The pop star sings a jaunty melody over the breezy patter of hand drums and a reggaeton synthetic bass line.
    — Stephen Humphries, The Christian Science Monitor, 27 Sep. 2022
  • This patter about who’s going to get up and close the shades is extremely relatable.
    — Emma Specter, Vogue, 3 Aug. 2023
  • Who better to recognize the power of a little idle patter than girls?
    — Time, 13 June 2023
  • Something else that has worked its way into the movie-promoting patter is the plea to see films in theaters.
    — Vulture, 4 Mar. 2022
  • Candlelight flickers against the cabin wall as rain patters against the window.
    — Samantha Laine Perfas, The Christian Science Monitor, 23 Feb. 2024
  • Over time, the patter became what audiences packed into nightclubs to hear.
    — Richard Ruelas, The Arizona Republic, 27 May 2021
  • Throughout, Jackson didn’t have much time for patter with the audience.
    — Matthew J. Palm, Orlando Sentinel, 20 Apr. 2023
  • But there could be some major differences between the two shows, beginning with her set list and stage patter.
    — George Varga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 Aug. 2025
  • Sun Ra’s patter was growing only weirder.
    — Literary Hub, 13 Feb. 2026
  • But beneath the bright patter and eye-catching descriptions, each story has sadness at its core.
    — Marion Winik, Washington Post, 26 June 2022
  • Not that Misty was about to bring up current events in his fairly reserved stage patter Friday night.
    — Chris Willman, Variety, 27 Feb. 2022
  • Brockmire speaks in this deep, singsongy narrative patter, even, for instance, while sitting on the toilet.
    — Zach Helfand, The New Yorker, 12 Apr. 2021
  • But in his body — the rigidity in his jaw and neck, the nervous patter of his fidgeting hands — is anxiety.
    — Vulture, 17 Oct. 2023
  • Rain patters through and gathers in puddles as visitors explore in silence.
    — Lale Arikoglu, Condé Nast Traveler, 2 May 2026
  • At times, Byford slips perilously close to a real estate agent’s patter.
    — Mark Landler, BostonGlobe.com, 14 May 2022
  • While just a few hours earlier, the rain may have felt like an annoyance, the gentle patter of rain on the tent set a cozy backdrop for the event.
    — Rachel Besser, Vogue, 7 Feb. 2024
  • The result is a patter of hokey jokes and straightforward references to wildlife, spring flows and history.
    — Kevin Spear, USA TODAY, 25 Jan. 2021
  • Polka dots are an easy-apply patter to manicures of all types, and instantly make French tips a little more fun.
    — Calin Van Paris, InStyle, 6 Feb. 2026

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'patter.' 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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