Word.ws English Dictionary

clunter

UK/ˈklʌn.tə/US/ˈklʌn.tɚ/

clunter noun: a large mass or lump.

Noun (1)

clunter (plural clunters)

  1. (dialectal) A large mass or lump.
  2. (dialectal) A clod of earth.

Verb (1)

clunter (third-person singular simple present clunters, present participle cluntering, simple past and past participle cluntered)

  1. (dialectal, intransitive) To become lumpy, run in clots; to coagulate, curdle.
  2. (dialectal, transitive) To assemble clumsily.

Verb (2)

clunter (third-person singular simple present clunters, present participle cluntering, simple past and past participle cluntered)

  1. (dialectal, intransitive) To make noise with the feet while walking; to tread heavily.

Noun (2)

clunter (plural clunters)

  1. (dialectal) Clatter, noise.
  2. (dialectal) Confusion.

Forms of clunter

Noun
pluralclunters
alternative formclunther
Verb
third-person singular presentclunters
present participlecluntering
past participlecluntered
pastcluntered
alternative formclointer
alternative formclonter

Origin of clunter

From Middle Dutch clonter (modern Dutch klonter (“lump, clod”), an extension of Middle Dutch clont (“shapeless mass, clump”), from Proto-Germanic *klunta-, related to *klautaz (“lump, ball”). related to Middle Low German klunter, klünter (“lump”), German Low German Klunter (“clump, clod”), Saterland Frisian Kluntje (“sugar cube”).

From Middle Dutch clonteren (“to clot”), whence Dutch klonteren (“to become lumpy”). Cognate with West Frisian klonterje (“to become lumpy”), German Low German kluntern (“to curdle”).

Origin obscure. Cognate with Scots clanter (“to make a clattering noise”). Perhaps from Middle English clondren (“to drone, hum”); alternatively, from clunt (“to walk noisily; tread heavily”) + -er (frequentative suffix). Compare also Middle Low German klunderen (“to rumble, make a noise”).

Words formed from clunter

  • clunterer
  • clunterfoot
  • clunterbush
  • clunterhead

Questions about clunter

What does clunter mean?
Clunter means a large mass or lump.
What part of speech is clunter?
Clunter can be a noun or a verb.
How do you pronounce clunter?
Clunter is pronounced /ˈklʌn.tə/ (UK).
What is the plural of clunter?
The plural of clunter is clunters.

Words near clunter in the dictionary

  1. clunkingly
  2. clunkings
  3. clunks
  4. clunky
  5. clunt
  6. clunter
  7. cluntered
  8. cluntering
  9. clunters
  10. Clunton
  11. Cluny

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: clunter (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this entry: “clunter.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/clunter. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.