Dictionary
pat•ter
Pronunciation: (pat'ur), [key]—
v.i.
1. to make a rapid succession of light taps:
Raindrops patter on the windowpane.
2. to move or walk lightly or quickly:
The child pattered across the room.
—
v.t.
1. to cause to patter.
2. to spatter with something.
—
n.
1. a rapid succession of light tapping sounds:
the steady patter of rain on the tin roof.
2. the act of pattering.
pat•ter
Pronunciation: (pat'ur), [key]—
n.
1. meaningless, rapid talk; mere chatter; gabble.
2. the usually glib and rapid speech or talk used by a magician while performing, a barker at a circus or sideshow, a comedian or other entertainer, a vendor of questionable wares, or the like; stylized or rehearsed talk used to attract attention, entertain, etc.
3. amusing lines delivered rapidly by an entertainer or performer, as in a comic routine or in a song.
4. the jargon or cant of any class, group, etc.
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v.i.
1. to talk glibly or rapidly, esp. with little regard to meaning; chatter.
2. to repeat a paternoster or other prayer in a rapid, mechanical way.
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v.t.
1. to recite or repeat (prayers, verses, etc.) in a rapid, mechanical way.
2. to repeat or say rapidly or glibly.
pat•ter
Pronunciation: (pat'ur), [key]—
n.
a person or thing that pats.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
