PATTER

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does patter mean? 

• PATTER (noun)
  The noun PATTER has 2 senses:

1. plausible glib talk (especially useful to a salesperson)

2. a quick succession of light rapid sounds

  Familiarity information: PATTER used as a noun is rare.

• PATTER (verb)
  The verb PATTER has 2 senses:

1. rain gently

2. make light, rapid and repeated sounds

  Familiarity information: PATTER used as a verb is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• PATTER (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Plausible glib talk (especially useful to a salesperson)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Synonyms:

line of gab; patter; spiel

Hypernyms ("patter" is a kind of...):

channel; communication channel; line ((often plural) a means of communication or access)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A quick succession of light rapid sounds

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural events

Context example:

the patter of tiny feet

Hypernyms ("patter" is a kind of...):

sound (the sudden occurrence of an audible event)

Derivation:

patter (make light, rapid and repeated sounds)

• PATTER (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they patter    ... he / she / it patters   
Past simple: pattered   
Past participle: pattered   
-ing form: pattering   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Rain gently

Classified under:

Verbs of raining, snowing, thawing, thundering

Synonyms:

patter; pitter-patter; spatter; spit; sprinkle

Context example:

It has only sprinkled, but the roads are slick

Hypernyms (to "patter" is one way to...):

rain; rain down (precipitate as rain)

Sentence frame:

It is ----ing

Sense 2

Meaning:

Make light, rapid and repeated sounds

Classified under:

Verbs of seeing, hearing, feeling

Synonyms:

patter; pitter-patter

Context example:

gently pattering rain

Hypernyms (to "patter" is one way to...):

go; sound (make a certain noise or sound)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Somebody ----s PP

Derivation:

patter (a quick succession of light rapid sounds)

 Context examples 

Outside the wind still screamed and the rain splashed and pattered against the windows.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

We heard her say, ‘Mother, there are two men in the house waiting to see you,’ and an instant afterwards we heard the patter of feet rushing down the passage.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

It was as still as a church on a week-day: the pattering rain on the forest leaves was the only sound audible in its vicinage.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

As Alleyne stooped to raise him, the air seemed to be alive with the sharp zip-zip of the bolts, and he could hear them pattering on the deck like apples at a tree-shaking.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Both men were a little winded, and their quick, high breathing, with the light patter of their feet as they danced round each other, blended into one continuous, long-drawn sound.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

So he pattered on, standing on the hilltop with his crutch under his elbow and one hand upon the side of the log-house—quite the old John in voice, manner, and expression.

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

In a few minutes they heard the pattering of tiny feet, and many of the small gray mice came running up to her.

(The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum)

"It's that naughty boy. I told him to go to sleep alone, and here he is, downstairs, getting his death a-cold pattering over that canvas," said Meg, answering the call.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

The sounds seemed to have awakened the maids, too, for I could hear their bare feet pattering outside my door.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

We had hardly closed the thornbush door of our zareba, clasped each other's hands, and thrown ourselves panting upon the ground beside our spring, when we heard a patter of feet and then a gentle, plaintive crying from outside our entrance.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)