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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

The bet from Paraguay—and potentially any other opponent hoping to rattle Les Bleus—was that the French players would lose their heads eventually.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026

And while risks of “renewed flare-ups” and headlines that could rattle investors, those dips should still be bought.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 6, 2026

Aftershocks continued to rattle the country into Sunday morning.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 29, 2026

That sell-off in South Korea could further rattle U.S. tech stocks, as investors worry that the AI rally may be due for a “breather,” writes José Torres, senior economist at Interactive Brokers.

From Barron's ● Jun. 23, 2026

Notice how I rattle off all their names.

From "Linked" by Gordon Korman

Then along came generative artificial intelligence that could easily automate the kind of administrative work Rattle specialized in.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026

He raised nearly $30 million from investors, and by the following year, his startup, Rattle, was valued at more than $100 million.

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

It rattles against the hard edges of your brain until it gets polished and smooth.

From Salon ● Aug. 6, 2026

Graham's death comes as the weeks-long hospitalization of former Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell rattles the party.

From Barron's ● Jul. 12, 2026

"So, when someone rattles you, knocks you off your game, breaks your focus, you find yourself interrupted, paused, with changing disrupting rhythms."

From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026

His alarm clock, a big and bulky machine that’s Bluetooth-connected to the house’s fire alarm, rattles his room until he finally shuts it off.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 11, 2026

The Girl rattles off a few more past offenses, some of which I can barely remember.

From "Legend" by Marie Lu

Elon Musk’s rocket company beat Wall Street expectations last night but rattled investors by disclosing plans for massive AI spending.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026

Meanwhile, the Iran war and concerns about artificial-intelligence spending have at times rattled trader sentiment.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 29, 2026

Yet when South Korean chipmakers—riding the same memory-chip windfall as China’s own ChangXin Memory Technologies, or CXMT—went into a speculative frenzy and then cracked, they rattled Chinese tech too.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026

Armed with ferocious intent and a forward line ravenous for turnover ball, Mayo rattled Kerry during a period when they clawed back from seven points down to revive their hopes.

From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026

Every few minutes, there was a new explosion that rattled Jess’s bones.

From "I Survived the Eruption of Mount St. Helens, 1980" by Lauren Tarshis

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

Another resident said aftershocks were still rattling the city hours after the initial tremor.

From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026

But the US leader expressed hope that renewed diplomacy could bring an end to the war that began in late February with a wave of US-Israeli strikes, rattling both the region and the global economy.

From Barron's ● Jul. 27, 2026

High fuel prices, which are currently rattling the industry, have previously been a catalyst for airline industry shake-ups.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026

As her fingers brush against the brass knocker, a rattling sound comes from the other side of the door, and we all freeze.

From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller

Related Words

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