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• rattle
  rattle

  verb (used without object)

  to give out or cause a rapid succession of short, sharp sounds, as in consequence of agitation and repeated concussions.
• Rattle
  Rattle

  noun

  Sir Simon . born 1955, English conductor. Principal conductor (1980–91) and music director (1991–98) of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra; chief conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra from 2002

rattle

¹ American  

[rat-l] / ˈræt l /

verb (used without object)

rattled, rattling

1. to give out or cause a rapid succession of short, sharp sounds, as in consequence of agitation and repeated concussions.

   The windows rattled in their frames.

   Synonyms:

   knock, clatter

2. to move or go, especially rapidly, with such sounds.

   The car rattled along the highway.

3. to talk rapidly; chatter.

   He rattled on for an hour about his ailments.

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verb (used with object)

rattled, rattling

1. to cause to rattle.

   He rattled the doorknob violently.

2. to drive, send, bring, etc., especially rapidly, with rattling sounds.

   The wind rattled the metal can across the roadway.

3. to utter or perform in a rapid or lively manner.

   to rattle off a list of complaints.

4. to disconcert or confuse (a person).

   A sudden noise rattled the speaker.

   Synonyms:

   discompose

5. Hunting. to stir up (a cover).

noun

• rattles
  plural

1. a rapid succession of short, sharp sounds, as from the collision of hard bodies.

   Synonyms:

   clatter

2. an instrument contrived to make a rattling sound, especially a baby's toy filled with small pellets that rattle when shaken.

3. the series of horny, interlocking elements at the end of the tail of a rattlesnake, with which it produces a rattling sound.

4. a rattling sound in the throat, as the death rattle.

rattle ² American  

[rat-l] / ˈræt l /

verb (used with object)

Nautical.

rattled, rattling

1. to furnish with ratlines (usually followed bydown ).

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rattle ¹ British  

/ ˈrætəl /

verb

1. to make or cause to make a rapid succession of short sharp sounds, as of loose pellets colliding when shaken in a container

2. to shake or cause to shake with such a sound

   the explosion rattled the windows

3. to send, move, drive, etc, with such a sound

   the car rattled along the country road

4. to chatter idly; talk, esp at length

   he rattled on about his work

5. (tr; foll by off, out etc) to recite perfunctorily or rapidly

6. informal (tr) to disconcert; make frightened or anxious

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noun

1. a rapid succession of short sharp sounds

2. an object, esp a baby's toy, filled with small pellets that rattle when shaken

3. a series of loosely connected horny segments on the tail of a rattlesnake, vibrated to produce a rattling sound

4. any of various European scrophulariaceous plants having a capsule in which the seeds rattle, such as Pedicularis palustris ( red rattle ) and Rhinanthus minor ( yellow rattle )

5. idle chatter

6. an idle chatterer

7. med another name for rale

Rattle ² British  

/ ˈrætəl /

noun

1. Sir Simon . born 1955, English conductor. Principal conductor (1980–91) and music director (1991–98) of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra; chief conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra from 2002

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rattle ³ British  

/ ˈrætəl /

verb

1. to fit (a vessel or its rigging) with ratlines

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• rattles
  plural

Etymology

Origin of rattle¹

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English verb rat(t)elen, ratlen, cognate with Dutch ratelen, German rasseln ); of imitative origin

Origin of rattle²

First recorded in 1720–30; back formation from ratling ratline (taken as verbal noun)

Explanation

To rattle is to make a very rapid, short series of knocking or tapping sounds. You might impatiently rattle the quarters in your pocket as you await your turn at the pinball machine. Ice cubes rattle in your glass of lemonade, and beads rattle in a jar. Something else that rattles is a baby's rattle, a noisy toy that's filled with small balls or pellets. Figuratively, to rattle someone is to upset or irritate them, like the way a sudden thunderstorm might rattle your timid poodle. Experts trace this word back to the Middle Dutch ratelen, which they believe to be imitative since it sounds a bit like a rattle.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

rattle Rattle rattles rattled rattling

And as a film, it’s a masterpiece that will rattle around your head for days, constantly sparking more affection — and the occasional nightmare.

From Salon ● Sep. 7, 2026

Light shaking, generally noticeable indoors by many and strong enough to rattle dishes and windows, was felt in Oakland and nearby San Leandro and Alameda.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 6, 2026

The number and variety of plants increased over time, including locally rare species such as southern marsh orchid, greater tussock-sedge, yellow rattle and common centaury.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 23, 2026

Lifted by a spirited second-quarter showing, Mayo emerged for the second half and continued to rattle Kerry, shutting down space and flooding forward in numbers.

From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026

‘Me!’ shouted the Giant, his mighty voice making the glass jars rattle on their shelves.

From "The BFG" by Roald Dahl

Take Rattle, a SaaS startup that just made a high-stakes pivot, as Kate Clark reports for The Wall Street Journal in a wide-ranging feature on the “SaaSpocalypse.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026

Aggarwal wasn’t yet convinced he had to bet the business on it, figuring Rattle would endure with just a dollop of AI.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026

He was born in Oxford, England, in 1975, and became assistant to Simon Rattle at the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra at the unheard-of age of 17.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 26, 2026

Upon turning 70 last year, Simon Rattle contended “Missa Solemnis” remains beyond him.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 24, 2026

I just found this new band Piggy's Death Rattle.

From "From Twinkle, with Love" by Sandhya Menon

South Korea was set Saturday to send its first trial container through the Arctic, as the Middle East war rattles global shipping, while environmental groups warned the route could accelerate polar ice melt.

From Barron's ● Aug. 22, 2026

Then I remembered that the ceiling fan has one speed at which it rattles faintly but insistently, so I got out of bed, yanked the chain and sent the blades spinning faster.

From Salon ● Aug. 20, 2026

Harvey has so many bangles that she rattles as she walks.

From BBC ● Jun. 19, 2026

We learn that the enormous feathered serpent Kukulkan was raised by his sister—and that he rattles the earth every year to let her know he’s still alive.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 16, 2026

He’d paid for new clothes, new rattles, new bottles, new diapers, even though they could not afford them and Aziza’s old ones were still serviceable.

From "A Thousand Splendid Suns" by Khaled Hosseini

To be sure, the sense of panic that had rattled major U.S. equity indexes early on Monday was already fading in afternoon trading.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 14, 2026

When £85m summer signing Mateus Fernandes had Spurs' first shot on target after 46 minutes, the stadium rattled to the sound of ironic applause.

From BBC ● Sep. 12, 2026

The change, already in force in the United States, has rattled social media experts.

From Barron's ● Sep. 10, 2026

Morgan’s resolute denials pleased his family and friends, but in fact he was deeply rattled.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 7, 2026

In the town of Otsuchi, in Iwate prefecture, Ryoichi Usuzawa was rattled at his desk.

From "Meltdown" by Deirdre Langeland

Flyers’ attempts to beat traffic and get a few more hours at the exclusive summer enclave are rattling the windows of people who believed they had earned a slice of suburban tranquility.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026

Somewhere very early, I learned that rattling meant somebody was awake.

From Salon ● Aug. 31, 2026

She’ll complain about me needing to find a secretary before rattling off the results, links to Slate articles and a recent award.

From Slate ● Aug. 6, 2026

Market uncertainty about Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh’s commitment to tackling inflation has also caused tremors, pushing up long-term borrowing costs to 19-year highs and rattling stocks along the way.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 31, 2026

He felt the secret building up inside him, a living thing rattling around his rib cage.

From "Beasts of Prey" by Ayana Gray

Related Words

• bewilder
• bother
• confound
• confuse
• distract
• disturb
• embarrass
• faze
• frighten
• scare
• shake
• unnerve