Learn English – Word for the sound produced while walking down the stairs

single-word-requestssounds

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.

picture of a woman walking down the stairs

Best Answer

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 –

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