natter
nat·ter/ˈnætɚ/verb, noun
natter is spelled N-A-T-T-E-R: 6 letters and 2 syllables (nat·ter). It appears about once in every 7 million words in written English, the 80,453rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, natter means “To talk casually; to discuss unimportant matters” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in natter?
| Letters | 6: N-A-T-T-E-R |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: nat·ter |
| In writing | about once in every 7 million words; the 80,453rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with | |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is natter?
Natter appears about once in every 7 million words in written English, the 80,453rd 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 natter?
- US /ˈnætɚ/
- UK /ˈnætə/
Natter has 2 syllables, split nat·ter in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-natter.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with natter?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as natter from its last stressed vowel (/ætəɹ/):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: ratten, treant.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of natter
- natters present, singular, he/she/it, plural
- nattering participle, present
- nattered participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does natter mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
colloquialTo talk casually; to discuss unimportant matters.
What are you guys nattering about? You're clearly not following the meeting!
- 2
ScotlandTo nag.
noun
- 1
colloquialMindless and irrelevant chatter.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Natter in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense to talk idly:
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does natter come from?
From a Northern England dialectal variant of gnatter (also knatter) ("to chatter, grumble; nibble away at"), ultimately of imitative origin. Cognate with German Low German gnattern (“to mumble, grumble, be grouchy”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).