Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. A rapid series of light tapping sounds.
- v. To make or move with a series of light tapping sounds: rain pitter-pattering on the roof.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- Same as pitapat; also noting a slighter and quicker beat, as of drops of water.
Wiktionary
- n. A soft, percussive sound, as of tiny feet or rain on a rooftop.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. A sound like that of alternating light beats. Also, a pattering of words.
- adv. With, or with the sound of, alternating light beats.
WordNet 3.0
- v. make light, rapid and repeated sounds
- adv. as of footsteps
- adv. describing a rhythmic beating
- n. a series of rapid tapping sounds
- v. rain gently
Etymologies
- Imitative. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“The shortcut may be setting yourself up for a trance by entrainment with a metronome-like pitter-patter of a tom-tom drum.”
“Although it seems that the intention of the video is to make your heart go pitter-patter, I found more value in the discussion it opens up.”
“Why couldn't they pitter-patter around the house, now that I had come home?”
“Day Seven — I thought I heard the pitter-patter of little feet.”
“When I hear my front door open, followed by the pitter-patter of uneven — sometimes clumsy — little steps coming down the hallway toward my home office, I smile.”
“The maggots, starved for oxygen, writhe and jump in the bag, creating a "pitter-patter" sound.”
“Here are five legit reasons the former goofball, currently engaged to actress Kristen Bell, makes our hearts go pitter-patter.”
“It's sweet enough to make even the most cynical heart go pitter-patter.”
“Jessica Alba is one among an ensemble of talented performers who will make the hearts of couples go pitter-patter this weekend when "Valentine's Day" arrives in theaters.”
‘Machete’ Star Steven Seagal Is Not An Actor, He’s A Lawman, Jessica Alba Says » MTV Movies Blog
“On Oct. 12, 2008, as the town slumbered, the pitter-patter of a gentle shower dimpled the dust of Alamos.”
Alamos: Still a boom to bust town, but with everlasting charm
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘pitter-patter’.
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Reduples
Go for it, brothers and sisters! I personally have been suffering long for lack of an open reduplicatives list
happy clappy, bribble-brabble, diddle-daddle, hugger-mugger, kikiriki, Bora-Bora, mahi-mahi, jingle-jangle, knick-knack paddy..., chit-chat, bon-bon, clapperclaw and 292 more...
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Only the Vowels are Different
hip-hop, fiddle-faddle, mishmash, flip-flop, chit-chat, riffraff, knick-knack, ping-pong, zigzag, sing-song, criss-cross, seesaw and 14 more...
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Sounds
Shhh! Listen! Did you hear that?
tintinnabulous, susurration, ululation, pandemonium, keening, tinkle, clang, caterwaul, twangle, twank, din, rumble and 34 more...
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Bumbly Burbly Baby Words
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Fun Words
Words that are fun to say....
gobbledygook, jings, crivens, hullabaloo, wheech, brouhaha, pizzazz, harum-scarum, namby-pamby, pussyfoot, frippery, pitter-patter and 333 more...
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Double Trouble
Reduplicatives and more.
splish-splash, hip-hop, kit-kat, dingaling, hugger-mugger, even-steven, tit for tat, higgledy-piggledy, dilly-dally, boogie-woogie, knick-knack, mai tai and 131 more...
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p is for...
my favorite voiceless bilabial plosive.
panacea, persnickety, panache, provenance, preternatural, penumbra, perfunctory, perspicacity, potentate, pinguid, plainsong, pleonastic and 228 more...
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Nakoo's list of beautiful words.
Just about any word I like at the time.
razbliuto, anaxiphilia, lipothymous, inamorata, acushla, abulia, serendipity, alexithymia, quixotic, idiosyncratic, ad nauseam, equanimity and 305 more...
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Words that are fun to say
stipple, carbuncle, dongle, exemplar, misbegotten, gigolo, salubrious, jupiter, propinquity, piglet, tobogganing, supercilious and 309 more...
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Words Covered in Faery Dust (P)
words that evoke magic, mystery, mayhem, magnificence or anything else that glimmers in the grass
pagan, page, pageant, pageboy, pagoda, paisley, paladin, palfrey, paling, pampas grass, pan, panoply and 194 more...
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Hocus-pocus, I see a crocus!
Reduplicatives
willy-nilly, higgledy-piggledy, harum-scarum, argy-bargy, boogie woogie, hanky panky, itsy-bitsy, helter-skelter, lovey-dovey, wishy-washy, namby-pamby, niminy-piminy and 95 more...
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This Higgledy-Piggledy Raggle-Taggle ...
flimflam, higgledy-piggledy, raggle-taggle, heebie-jeebies, bric-a-brac, tip-top, holus-bolus, hocus-pocus, hobson-jobson, riffraff, artsy-fartsy, harum-scarum and 28 more...
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Words I like
These are words that just sound cool, make me smile, etc.
sizzle, ruby, prismatic, wonderstruck, violet, raggamuffin, garland, vignette, dandelion, petticoat, tulip, spring and 21 more...
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Inguriddo's list
linger, smooth, devour, excruciating, totally, bogus, wreck, labyrinth, complexity, reserved, vanish, disappear and 33 more...
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ynaffit's Words
sedulous, vituperative, pullulating, erstwhile, imbroglio, asperity, cynosure, adumbrate, prosopopoeia, peerless, calumny, ague and 272 more...
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Soft
gentle, creme, violet, breeze, lavender, pure, dew, rose, milk, calm, cleansing, gentle and 74 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for pitter-patter.
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