Meanings
nounrataplan (plural rataplans)
plural rataplans
- A continuous, even drumming or rapping, as of the hooves of a galloping horse, or machine-gun fire.
verbrataplan (third-person singular simple present rataplans, present participle rataplanning, simple past and past participle rataplanned)
present singular third person rataplans · participle present rataplanning · participle past rataplanned · past rataplanned
- To drum repeatedly.
Synonyms & antonyms
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
From French ran tan plan, onomatopoeic.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
APA
rataplan. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rataplan
MLA
“rataplan.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rataplan. Accessed November 2, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “rataplan,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rataplan.
Source: rataplan on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.