clack
/klæk/noun, verb
clack is spelled C-L-A-C-K: 5 letters and one syllable. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 46,473rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, clack means “An abrupt, sharp sound, especially one made by two hard objects colliding repetitively; a sound midway between a click and a clunk” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of clack is clacks.
How many letters and syllables are in clack?
| Letters | 5: C-L-A-C-K |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 46,473rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is clack?
Clack appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 46,473rd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce clack?
- /klæk/
Clack has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-clack.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of clack
- clacks plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- clacking participle, present
- clacked participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does clack mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
An abrupt, sharp sound, especially one made by two hard objects colliding repetitively; a sound midway between a click and a clunk.
- 2
Anything that causes a clacking noise, such as the clapper of a mill, or a clack valve.
- 3
Chatter; prattle.
- 4
colloquialThe tongue.
verb
- 1
To make a sudden, sharp noise, or succession of noises; to click.
- 2
To cause to make a sudden, sharp noise, or succession of noises; to click.
- 3
To chatter or babble; to utter rapidly without consideration.
- 4
UKTo cut the sheep's mark off (wool), to make the wool weigh less and thus yield less duty.
- 5
datedDated form of cluck.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does clack come from?
From Middle English clacken, clakken, claken, from Old English *clacian (“to slap, clap, clack”), from Proto-Germanic *klakōną (“to clap, chirp”). Cognate with Scots clake, claik (“to utter cries", also "to bedaub, sully with a sticky substance”), Dutch klakken (“to clack, crack”), Low German klakken (“to slap on, daub”), Norwegian klakke (“to clack, strike, knock”), Icelandic klaka (“to twitter, chatter, wrangle, dispute”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).