Meanings
plural clip-clops · alternative clip clop
- onomatopoeicThe sound of steps on hard ground, especially of a horse's hooves.
Meronyms: clop, cloop
4 more examples
The wagon creaked, swayed, moved on to strange accompaniment— clip-clop, clip-clop, clip-clop. The horses were trotting on hard road.
1925, Zane Grey, The Thundering Herd1984, Anthony C. Yu, tr. 吴承恩, 西游记 (Wu Cheng'en, Journey to the West) http://books.google.com/books?ie=UTF-8&vid=ISBN0226971538&id=1q2jr5jttaUC&pg=PA39&lpg=PA39&dq=%22clip-clops%22&sig=AK8LZaIEHgK0n1Bxa7jLM3YK_Xo With loud clip-clops, several middle-aged women ran out from within to stare at the T’ang monk, grinning stupidly all the time.
Suddenly I heard the familiar “clip-clop, clip-clop” of shower shoes coming up the path behind me—and a rapid pace it was.
2001, Dave Zorn, Dinky Dau: Love, War, and the Corps2003, Ann Redisch Stampler, Something for Nothing http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN0618159827&id=F6U_tU8-FFkC&pg=PA7&lpg=PA7&dq=clip-clop&sig=bhYqdn7LQFMg6a0BuBGFIgpnP2E All night long, Dog heard the clip-clop of horses hauling the wagons to market.
present singular third person clip-clops · participle present clip-clopping · participle past clip-clopped · past clip-clopped · alternative clip clop
- To make a clip-clop noise.
2002, D J Vallone, For the Love of Freedom http://books.google.com/books?ie=UTF-8&vid=ISBN0595226183&id=xKV1VCsAwZIC&pg=PA92&lpg=PA92&dq=%22clip-clops%22&sig=-LkO8mWX7qKZGvv2vcIXOHpIqYM One of several pairs of mounted police in flak jackets clip-clops past, patrolling the perimeter.
2 more examples
At the some moment, a horse clip-clops past, hauling a wagon.
1999, Mary Downing Hahn, Anna All Year RoundThere was a single arrivals platform, nearest to King's Cross. The large arch beneath the clock gave access to Hansom carriages clip-clopping up the cobbled ramp from the main gate in Euston Road, directly onto the platform, to meet well-to-do passengers.
2023 August 23, Nigel Harris, “Comment: End damaging drift at Euston”, in RAIL, number 990, page 3
Synonyms & antonyms
nounthe sound of a horse's hoofs hitting on a hard surface
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
Onomatopoeia for two footsteps in succession.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic حَبَطَقْطَقْ
- حَبَطَقْطَقْ (ḥabaṭaqṭaq)Onomatopoeia
Basque txalaparta
- txalapartaOnomatopoeia
French cataclop, tagada
- cataclopOnomatopoeia
- tagadaOnomatopoeia
Italian zoccolata, zoccolare
- zoccolataOnomatopoeia
- zoccolareTranslations
Japanese ド ド
- ド ド (dodo)Onomatopoeia
Māori pakopakō (Of horsehooves), pakopakō (Of horsehooves)
- pakopakō (Of horsehooves)Onomatopoeia
- pakopakō (Of horsehooves)Translations
Portuguese pocotó, fazer pocotó
- pocotóOnomatopoeia
- fazer pocotóTranslations
Russian цо́канье, цо́кать
- цо́канье (cókanʹje)Onomatopoeia
- цо́кать (cókatʹ)Translations
Scottish Gaelic ligidh leagaidh
- ligidh leagaidhOnomatopoeia
Spanish trápala
- trápalaOnomatopoeia
Turkish dıgıdık
- dıgıdıkOnomatopoeia
Vietnamese lộp cộp, lọc cọc
- lộp cộpOnomatopoeia
- lọc cọcOnomatopoeia
Cite this entry
clip-clop. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/clip-clop
“clip-clop.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/clip-clop. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “clip-clop,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/clip-clop.
Source: clip-clop on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.