1
as in chatter
friendly, informal conversation or an instance of this
their patter could be heard down the hall
Synonyms & Similar Words
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2
as in terminology
the special terms or expressions of a particular group or field
the patter of highbrow criticism that one hears in fashionable art galleries
Synonyms & Similar Words
as in to chat
to engage in casual or rambling conversation
the toddler pattered on for what seemed like hours
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of patter
Georgina Jedikovska, Interesting Engineering, 27 Mar. 2026
Beckett’s patter of repetitions and reversals—as the tape is rewound, replayed, and punctured by Krapp’s speech in the present—resembles Lerner’s technique.
—Hannah Gold, Harpers Magazine, 24 Mar. 2026
Danya Gainor, CNN Money, 24 Oct. 2025
The rain was pattering on the windowpanes all night.
—Philip Metres
july 30, Literary Hub, 30 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for patter
Noun
Water, however, doesn’t follow this patter.
—Georgina Jedikovska, Interesting Engineering, 27 Mar. 2026
Beckett’s patter of repetitions and reversals—as the tape is rewound, replayed, and punctured by Krapp’s speech in the present—resembles Lerner’s technique.
—Hannah Gold, Harpers Magazine, 24 Mar. 2026
Verb
As rain pattered against windows, and trees lining the streets swayed, flurries of urgent texts began ricocheting from one end of the neighborhood to the other, and panic set in as some residents put on their shoes and hurried out the door.
—Danya Gainor, CNN Money, 24 Oct. 2025
The rain was pattering on the windowpanes all night.
—Philip Metres
july 30, Literary Hub, 30 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for patter
Recent Examples of Synonyms for patter
Noun
-
Insider Ian Rapoport will update those three with league chatter and trade buzz.—
Steven Louis Goldstein,
New York Times,
25 Apr. 2026
-
Their laughs and chatter fill the countryside and one another’s hearts, the merriment binding them all together like caterpillars in one big cocoon.—
Brian Moylan,
Vulture,
24 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Much of the spring was spent installing systems — learning calls, adjustments, and terminology—but the tempo picked up noticeably by the final week.—
Harold Gutmann,
Mercury News,
25 Apr. 2026
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Even members of the commission expressed their concerns that the report was too Westernized in its terminology and its approaches.—
Stijn Joye,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
23 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The two men, who were flanked by their wives, chatted during the parade, which was capped with a flyover of four F-35 military jets.—
Kathryn Palmer,
USA Today,
29 Apr. 2026
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Flay first revealed that girlfriend Williamson was becoming a team captain while chatting with PEOPLE at the South Beach Wine & Food Festival (SOBEWFF) in February.—
Erin Clements,
PEOPLE,
29 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Investors had cheered the talks and the prospect of change at a fiercely independent company that had relied on decades-old relationships.—
Edwin Chan,
Bloomberg,
27 Apr. 2026
-
There was talk that the Falcons might be willing to trade Pitts for draft picks at some point during the weekend.—
Josh Kendall,
New York Times,
27 Apr. 2026
Noun
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India’s community radio environment has seen slow growth but has been important in preserving local dialects and minority music and folklore traditions while also advocating for women’s and children’s rights.—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
23 Apr. 2026
-
Much of this influence played a role in what would become the dialect of the South more generally as Scots Irish settlers and their descendants spread into the backcountry of the Upper and, a bit later, the Lowland South.—
Valerie Fridland,
Big Think,
21 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Camille — who runs the Instagram account @thepittdetails, and asked to be identified by only her first name — says that shipping characters makes the show easier to converse about.—
Payton Turkeltaub,
Variety,
25 Apr. 2026
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Bassil notes that unlike large parties that might be dining out with the express purpose of conversing with each other, solo diners can offer the restaurant an opportunity to more deeply and directly engage with guests.—
Alana Al-Hatlani,
Southern Living,
25 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Although research suggests that elementary teachers should focus on helping students learn the sounds of speech, phonics, reading fluency, vocabulary and reading comprehension strategies, there is little evidence on how well these skills are packaged into the textbooks used in classrooms.—
Shawn Datchuk,
The Conversation,
23 Apr. 2026
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The team's next steps are testing with more users across more sessions, expanding the vocabulary, and improving compensation for body movement.—
Omar Kardoudi
April 23,
New Atlas,
23 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
The majority, rather than being rattled by a president who had attempted a coup, labored to protect the country from the hypothetical danger of a presidency rendered impotent by specious criminal prosecutions.—
Gregg Nunziata,
The Atlantic,
27 Apr. 2026
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Conflict in the Middle East is rattling energy markets, pushing up the cost of natural gas—the backbone of nitrogen fertilizer production—and exposing once again just how vulnerable farmers and families are to shocks beyond their control.—
Carlos Alvarado Quesada,
Fortune,
27 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Patter.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/patter. Accessed 1 May. 2026.
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