patter

¹

[ pat-er ]

verb (used without object)

1. to make a rapid succession of light taps:

   Raindrops patter on the windowpane.

   Synonyms: pelt, rap, beat, pat

2. to move or walk lightly or quickly:

   The child pattered across the room.

verb (used with object)

1. to cause to patter.
2. to spatter with something.

noun

1. a rapid succession of light tapping sounds:

   the steady patter of rain on the tin roof.

2. the act of pattering.

patter

²

[ pat-er ]

noun

1. meaningless, rapid talk; mere chatter; gabble.
2. the usually glib and rapid speech or talk used by a magician while performing, a barker at a circus or sideshow, a comedian or other entertainer, a vendor of questionable wares, or the like; stylized or rehearsed talk used to attract attention, entertain, etc.
3. amusing lines delivered rapidly by an entertainer or performer, as in a comic routine or in a song.
4. the jargon or cant of any class, group, etc.

verb (used without object)

1. to talk glibly or rapidly, especially with little regard to meaning; chatter.
2. to repeat a paternoster or other prayer in a rapid, mechanical way.

verb (used with object)

1. to recite or repeat (prayers, verses, etc.) in a rapid, mechanical way.
2. to repeat or say rapidly or glibly.

patter

³

[ pat-er ]

noun

1. a person or thing that pats. pat.

patter

¹

/ ˈpætə /

noun

1. the glib rapid speech of comedians, salesmen, etc
2. quick idle talk; chatter
3. the jargon of a particular group; lingo

verb

1. intr to speak glibly and rapidly
2. to repeat (prayers) in a mechanical or perfunctory manner

patter

²

/ ˈpætə /

verb

1. intr to walk or move with quick soft steps
2. to strike with or make a quick succession of light tapping sounds
3. rare.
   tr to cause to patter

noun

1. a quick succession of light tapping sounds, as of feet

   the patter of mice

Other Words From

• patter·er pater·ist noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of patter¹

First recorded in 1605–15; pat ¹ + -er ⁶

Origin of patter²

First recorded in 1375–1425; Middle English pateren “to say the paternoster, pray quickly and mechanically”; pater

Origin of patter³

pat ¹ + -er ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of patter¹

C14: from Latin pater in Pater Noster Our Father

Origin of patter²

C17: from pat ¹

Example Sentences

In a robotic patter, a guard read a proposal to change Navalny’s status at the prison.

From Time

While there are plenty of sounds to choose from, our favorites included the gentle patter of rainfall, which masked a bed partner’s snores.

From Outside Online

In the patter around, and woven into, his brisk piano reading of “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out” he recalled his late friend and longtime bandmate Clarence Clemons.

From Time

Demi had been keeping up a soft patter of chat, but just now she wasn’t sure what to say.

From Washington Post

“Without knowing it, during the kite chases I was learning how to get around — by sensing the currents of air and by listening to the patter of feet on a roof, to the scrapes of shoes along a wall,” he wrote.

From Washington Post

The scenes are succinct, by and large; the patter of the characters rolls right along, whether you catch their drift or not.

From The Daily Beast

But feverish speculation and the constant patter of Vaudevillian innuendo came to overshadow more serious business.

From The Daily Beast

Her father, Frederick Dalziel, was British and with a bearing and patter that suggested far more wealth than he had.

From The Daily Beast

You pretty much can't get a better absurdist parody of politicians' vapid sure-is-nice-to-be-here patter than that.

From The Daily Beast

My heart kept up its pitter-patter as I continued reading down the thread.

From The Daily Beast

The short steps patter on the bridge connecting the upper rotunda with the cell-house, and pass along the gallery.

From Project Gutenberg

When the carriage-door was shut and the driver was mounting his box, the same old patter attracted my attention.

From Project Gutenberg

Weston looked up sharply as a patter of approaching footsteps rose out of the shadows behind him.

From Project Gutenberg

At that moment there was the sound of a scream, then the patter of running feet in the court below.

From Project Gutenberg

Let others who have more sin on their souls, and are more frighted by priests' patter, go if they list.

From Project Gutenberg