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Added 9 October 2026

clack

/klæk/ noun

noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about clack at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

A sharp abrupt noise as if two objects hit together; may be repeated.
A simple valve with a hinge on one side; allows fluid to flow in only one direction.

verb

Make a rattling sound.
clattering dishes
Make a clucking sounds, characteristic of hens.
Speak (about unimportant matters) rapidly and incessantly.

Origin

From Middle English clacken, clakken, claken, from Old English *clacian (“to slap, clap, clack”), from Proto-Germanic *klakōną (“to clap, chirp”). Cognate with Scots clake, claik (“to utter cries", also "to bedaub, sully with a sticky substance”), Dutch klakken (“to clack, crack”), Low German klakken (“to slap on, daub”), Norwegian klakke (“to clack, strike, knock”), Icelandic klaka (“to twitter, chatter, wrangle, dispute”).

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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