Word for the sound produced while walking down the stairs

Question

Here, I want the word pertaining to the sound of human footsteps while walking down the stairs. The word I am looking for, can be contrasted with the word of the sound of footsteps of army marching. I am just looking for that word that denotes the sound of footsteps (hitting on the stairs) while walking down the stairs.

My research suggests two best options; one is adjective to describe that sort of sound, and the other, noun:

1. Click-clacking sound.

2. Clomp.

I am not fully satisfied with the word clomp as it denotes the sound of a heavy tread.

I heard the ______ of her footsteps when she was walking down the stairs.

Answer 1

If you’re looking for a single word that specifically means the sound of human footsteps while walking down the stairs, I suspect that you’re going to be disappointed.  English has quite a few niche words, but you’ve presented a very rarefied specification, and I doubt that there’s a word with that narrow a meaning.  But if you’ll be satisfied by a word that can be used to refer to that, then I suggest tread:

ODO:

A manner or the sound of someone walking.   ‘I heard the heavy tread of Dad’s boots’

Collins English Dictionary:

A person’s tread is the sound that they make with their feet as they walk.

Macmillan Dictionary:

British  the sound that someone makes when they walk

Macmillan says that this is a Br.E. meaning / usage.  I question that; I’ve lived in the U.S. all my life (with only a few days spent in the U.K.) and it popped right into my head.  Then again, I mainly know it from With Cat-Like Tread, (Upon Our Prey We Steal), from The Pirates of Penzance by Gilbert and Sullivan:

With cat-like tread,
   Upon our prey we steal;
In silence dread,
   Our cautious way we feel.
No sound at all,
   We never speak a word,
A fly’s foot-fall
   Would be distinctly heard –

Answer 2

If the sound is not necessarily high-pitched (ruling out "click") and is not heavy (ruling out "clomp"), then you might use tapping or patter (repeated tapping) or pitter-patter/pit-a-pat.

Answer 3

"I heard the tip-tap of her footsteps..."

Tip-tap (noun) (M-W Dictionary)

an alternating light knocking or tapping; also : the sound made by such tapping

Answer 4

A somewhat archaic, or at least obscure, word is footfall:

ODO:

The sound of a footstep or footsteps.   ‘ you will recognize his footfall on the stairs’

American Heritage Dictionary:

See footstep.


footstep:
The sound of a foot stepping

Collins English Dictionary:

A footfall is the sound that is made by someone walking each time they take a step.
She heard Tom’s familiar, flat footfall on the staircase.

I didn’t find a dictionary that identifies footfall as archaic or obscure, but Collins and Macmillan Dictionary call it “literary”.  I probably wouldn’t have thought of it, but I saw it in the lyrics of With Cat-Like Tread (Upon Our Prey We Steal), from The Pirates of Penzance by Gilbert and Sullivan:

    ︙
No sound at all,
   We never speak a word,
A fly’s foot-fall
   Would be distinctly heard –