Meanings
nounrat-a-tat (plural rat-a-tats)
plural rat-a-tats
- alternativeAlternative form of ratatat.
By longstanding, bipartisan tradition, decades of White House press secretaries have handed down a cheeky symbol of their job fielding rat-a-tat inquiries from feisty reporters: a flak jacket.
2022 May 20, Michael M. Grynbaum, “White House Press Secretary Gets a New ‘Flak Jacket’: A Women’s Blazer”, in The New York Times, →ISSN
Synonyms & antonyms
nouna series of short sharp taps (as made by strokes on a drum or knocks on a door)
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Also see
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Cite this entry
APA
rat-a-tat. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rat-a-tat
MLA
“rat-a-tat.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rat-a-tat. Accessed November 4, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “rat-a-tat,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rat-a-tat.
Source: rat-a-tat on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.