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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

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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)

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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

A break below it could amplify the downtrend and further rattle confidence.

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 6, 2026

"Florence started to make some really harsh grunting sounds, it sounded like a death rattle coming from her chest up into her mouth," she said.

From BBC ● Oct. 28, 2026

The biggest U.S. automaker has been returning billions to investors even as high interest rates, soaring gas prices and trade wars rattle the global auto industry.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 20, 2026

Tanden can reflexively rattle off the particularities of housing protocols I couldn’t begin to decode; she titters with satisfaction upon recounting the intricacies of a long-discarded Australian cap-and-trade proposal.

From Slate ● Oct. 15, 2026

He heard the heavy tread of marching feet, the rattle of weapons.

From "The Book of Three" by Lloyd Alexander

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

Rattle developed an operating system for sales and revenue teams that sits on top of companies’ other software tools such as Salesforce.

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

Then came the voice once again, soft and spooky this time, "Rattle my bones," it said.

From "Matilda" by Roald Dahl

Wall Street’s top trades of 2026 are coming undone as a violent rotation rattles the U.S. stock market.

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 5, 2026

On the other hand, Casa Vega owner Christy Vega rattles off a long list of complaints when discussing Raman and her office.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 26, 2026

"It would have been a nice place to sing. Bit like singing in a big church or something. The sound rattles around everywhere."

From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2026

“I’m not someone who rattles easily,” said the 47-year-old founder of a cybersecurity company.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026

It sounded like when boiling water rattles the pot cover.

From "Adrift" by Paul Griffin

Edwards said the experience has left her rattled but undeterred.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 3, 2026

The bigger losses on Friday were elsewhere, with Intel on track to lose more than $130bn in value after its earnings update rattled investors.

From BBC ● Oct. 30, 2026

Margaret confronts the principal and tells him that Carrie was rattled by the drill and that the whole exercise is traumatizing to students.

From Salon ● Oct. 30, 2026

A cameraman proclaimed “¡Muy bien!” when Raman rattled off an “uno, dos, tres” mic check.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 28, 2026

So Traynor listened while Dasch "rattled on" about how he'd first arrived in the US as a stowaway, how he had worked as a waiter, and how he had joined the U.S.

From Nazi Saboteurs by Samantha Seiple

We’re witnessing the power of pure art, even as Rock cleverly waters down the moment with the sound of an unseen bartender rattling a martini shaker in the background.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026

Then you'd hear the packet rattling just as the manager was trying to deliver a team talk - or was about to give a player a dressing down.

From BBC ● Oct. 2, 2026

Thousands of people marched through the streets of Madrid rattling keys and blowing whistles to call for measures to curb rising housing costs and make evictions more difficult.

From Barron's ● Sep. 26, 2026

That idea has been rattling around my mind after seeing Zach Cregger’s new “Resident Evil,” itself a reboot made in its creator’s image.

From Salon ● Sep. 23, 2026

His ears rang with the metallic bellow of the saa-horn up in one of the temple’s towers, rattling his bones from head to toe.

From "Beasts of Prey" by Ayana Gray

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