American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

the clank of chains.

A metallic sound, sharp and hard but not resonant: the clank of chains.

2. ( intr ) to move or operate making such a sound

1. to make or cause to make such a sound

clank

(klæŋk)

1. a sharp, hard, nonresonant sound, like that of two pieces of metal striking together: the clank of chains.

2. to make such a sound.

3. to move with such sounds: The old truck clanked up the hill.

4. to cause to make a sharp sound, as metal in collision.

5. to place, set, etc., with a clank: to clank the door shut.

[1605–15; < Dutch klank sound]

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