What is the sound of teeth called that occurs in chilly weather: the sound that comes due to teeth crashing in each other in an extremely chilly winter.
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3 Answers
The most common and idiomatic word to describe this situation is chattering.
From WordNet:
chatter: click together repeatedly or uncontrollably
"Chattering teeth"
answered Jun 30, 2015 at 10:18
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2Getting there, @deadrat. I usually post the answer first and then go get some sources to support it.– Dan BronJun 30, 2015 at 10:24
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13I wasn't serious. I guess I'm going to have to learn how to use emoticons.– deadratJun 30, 2015 at 10:51
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4I didn't know that you were kidding, but it didn't matter: you were absolutely right, and at no point was I offended. I post comments like yours all the time, and I wouldn't like to make a hypocrite of myself! I don't like to post answers which are supported solely by the implicit notion of "... take my word for it!".– Dan BronJun 30, 2015 at 10:54
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Chatter is the word you are looking for:
Chatter (teeth):
- If your teeth chatter, they knock together repeatedly because you are very cold or frightened:
- I could hardly talk, my teeth were chattering so much.
Cambridge Dictionary
I've also heard Clatter used for this.
A continuous rattling sound as of hard objects falling or striking each other:
From Google books the following quote
“'Who are you?' I asked through clattering teeth. I was shivering from head to toe.
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10That is definitely a word that describes a sound, but I don't think I've ever seen it applied to the activity of teeth when one is cold or shivering.– Dan BronJun 30, 2015 at 14:11
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3Google Ngram viewer suggests it's rare relative to Chattering but does get used. I must have read a lot of books from the 1890s. (;– aslumJun 30, 2015 at 14:13
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1Haha, fair enough. Upvoted. If you add the nGram link and image/chart to your answer, you might get others' upvotes as well.– Dan BronJun 30, 2015 at 14:16