Clatter is the loud, rattling sound made when hard objects knock together rapidly. When you drop a handful of silverware on a kitchen floor, it makes a clatter. When a horse's metal shoes hit pavement, they clatter against the stone. When dishes are being stacked quickly in a busy restaurant kitchen, they clatter together.

The word captures a particular kind of noise: sharp, repetitive, and usually accidental. A single dropped spoon makes a clang, but a whole drawer of utensils spilling out makes a clatter. The sound has an uncontrolled, chaotic quality.

Clatter works as both a noun and a verb. You might hear the clatter of construction work outside your window, or watch shopping carts clattering across a parking lot on a windy day. In older times, people would hear the clatter of carriage wheels on cobblestone streets, a sound that filled every city before cars arrived.

The word often suggests commotion or disturbance. If something goes clattering to the floor during a quiet moment in class, everyone turns to look.