clickety-clack

Keyboard typing sound

Clickety-clack is the rhythmic rattling sound of hard objects striking in quick succession—most often train wheels on tracks or typewriter keys: The clickety-clack of the train lulled her to sleep.

The word imitates the sound it names, with the alternating vowels suggesting the repeated two-beat pattern.

trains

railroad

Permanent track for trains

rails · passenger · station · commuter · rhythm · crossing · caboose · sleeper · journey · steam

typewriter

keys

Lock-operating instruments

paper · secretary · keyboard · manual · platen · return · letters · office · vintage · mechanical

knitting

needles

Slender pointed instruments

  • yarnTwisted strand for crafts
  • stitchesThread fastening wounds
  • woolSheared animal fiber

crafting · pattern · casting · purling · grandmother · rocking chair · afghan · sweater · circular · bamboo

heels

stilettos

Thin, high-heeled shoes

hallway · pumps · footsteps · marble · tile · striding · runway · high heels · hard floor · tapping

mechanical

gears

Toothed rotating machine parts

  • ratchetToothed one-way mechanism
  • mechanismMeans by which something operates
  • cogProjecting gear tooth

machine · clockwork · sprocket · lever · rotation · device · contraption · winding · pawl · escapement

Categories
Opposites
sound quality

clickety-clackhum

Low steady sound

drone · whir · whoosh · continuous tone · purr

presence of sound

clickety-clacksilence

Total lack of sound

quiet · stillness · soundlessness · hush · peace

Family

click, clack, clicking, clickety, clicker, clacking, clickbait, clacker, clickable

Familiarity
Top 200,000
Profile
Known to kids · Used worldwide · Timeless · Concrete · Everyday, not technical · Rated G