rat-a-tat
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The final third of the show went rat-a-tat with songs from the last gasp of the Top 40 monoculture: “Grenade” and “Uptown Funk” and the like.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
“People were amazed. They could see these top stars singing and dancing. They could hear the rat-a-tat of the guns. And sound also made for a tremendous amount of creativity in movie making.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 15, 2026
Inspired by US vocal harmony groups such as En Vogue and SWV, Mis-Teeq cleverly incorporated garage and hip-hop to their sound, with Alesha Dixon's rat-a-tat MC'ing setting them apart from more their pop rivals.
From BBC ● Nov. 7, 2025
The film, in its first minutes, prefers the latter, opening with a rat-a-tat montage of her many successes: author, linguist, Phi Beta Kappa scholar.
From New York Times ● Nov. 2, 2023
People clapped me on the back, shook Dad’s hand and spoke a rat-a-tat Spanish that I was unable to follow.
From "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou
