pitter-patter

Reduplication of patter.

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈpɪt.əˈpæt.ə/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈpɪt.ɚˈpæt.ɚ/

  • Audio (US):

    (file)

pitter-patter (uncountable)

1. A soft, percussive sound, as of tiny feet, or of rain on a rooftop; patter.
   • 1895–1897, H[erbert] G[eorge] Wells, “The Stillness”, in The War of the Worlds, London: William Heinemann, published 1898, →OCLC, book II (The Earth under the Martians), page 237:

     Once or twice I heard a faint pitter-patter like the feet of the dog going hither and thither on the sand far below me, and there were more bird-like sounds, but that was all.

   • 1973, Van Morrison, “Autumn Song”:

     Pitter-patter the rain falling down / Little glamor sun coming round / Take a walk when autumn comes to town

pitter-patter (third-person singular simple present pitter-patters, present participle pitter-pattering, simple past and past participle pitter-pattered)

1. (intransitive) To patter; to scurry.
   • 1996, Stephen Leather, The Double Tap, BCA, page 97:

     The rain was coming down heavier now, the drops pitter-pattering on the roof of the truck.