tatters

T1A1T1T1E1R1S1
UK/ˈtætəz/US/ˈtætɚz/

noun

Ragged clothing or fabric, paper, etc.

UncommonScrabble 7
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Meanings

nountatters pl (plural only)
  1. pluralplural onlyRagged clothing or fabric, paper, etc.
    1 more example

    The universe is finished; the copestone is on, and the chips were carted off a million years ago. Poor Lazarus there, chattering his teeth against the curbstone for his pillow, and shaking off his tatters with his shiverings, he might plug up both ears with rags, and put a corn-cob into his mouth, and yet that would not keep out the tempestuous Euroclydon.

    1851 November 14, Herman Melville, “The Carpet-Bag”, in Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard Bentley, →OCLC, page 10
noun
  1. pluralplural of tatter
verb
  1. indicativepresentsingularthird personthird-person singular simple present indicative of tatter

Origin

Cognate with Old English tættec, tætteca.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Czech hadry, cáry
  • hadryragged clothing, fabric, paper etc
  • cáryragged clothing, fabric, paper etc
  • cuckyragged clothing, fabric, paper etc
Finnish riekale
  • riekaleragged clothing, fabric, paper etc
French haillons, guenille
  • haillonsragged clothing, fabric, paper etc
  • guenilleragged clothing, fabric, paper etc
Italian stracci
  • stracciragged clothing, fabric, paper etc
Māori ngetangeta, hautai
  • ngetangetaragged clothing, fabric, paper etc
  • hautairagged clothing, fabric, paper etc
Russian кло́чья, лохмо́тья
  • кло́чья (klóčʹja)ragged clothing, fabric, paper etc
  • лохмо́тья (loxmótʹja)ragged clothing, fabric, paper etc
Scottish Gaelic luideagan
  • luideaganragged clothing, fabric, paper etc
Spanish jirones
  • jironesragged clothing, fabric, paper etc
Tagalog lawing
  • lawingragged clothing, fabric, paper etc

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

Statter
Cite this entry
APA

tatters. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tatters

MLA

“tatters.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tatters. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “tatters,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tatters.

Source: tatters on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.