Standard Lemma guide

rat-a-tat-tat

intj · noun · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • rhymes with -æt

1

intj

Meaning 1

A series of short, sharp taps, especially made by knocking on a door, beating a drum, or firing an automatic weapon.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

A series of short, sharp taps, especially made by knocking on a door, beating a drum, or firing an automatic weapon.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

a series of short sharp taps (as made by strokes on a drum or knocks on a door)

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: rat-a-tat, rat-tat

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: tapping

History

Etymology

Onomatopoeic.

Across languages

Translations

4 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Chinese Mandarin: 噠噠噠 /哒哒哒 (dādādā) — Translations
  • Chinese Mandarin: 嗒嗒嗒 (dādādā) — Translations
  • Russian: тра-та-та (tra-ta-ta) — Translations
  • Russian: пиф-паф (pif-paf) — Translations