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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

"You felt the office rattle and you heard the loud noise."

From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026

Light shaking is generally noticeable indoors and strong enough to rattle dishes and windows.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026

Aftershocks rattle the area a few times an hour throughout the day.

From Barron's ● Jul. 30, 2026

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

Soon he was able to rattle it, thus attracting even more attention.

From "Nectar in a Sieve" by Kamala Markandaya

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

Aggarwal moved back to San Francisco, and Rattle expanded, signing on clients such as human-resources startup Rippling, cloud-design company Figma and productivity-management startup Notion.

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

"Rattle my bones!" the parrot said, giving a wonderful imitation of a spooky voice.

From "Matilda" by Roald Dahl

“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

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

Such talk rattles many here who grew up in a country where government buildings still bear the revolutionary motto: “Homeland or death, we will prevail.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 22, 2026

The blade stops in midair and rattles to the ground—lifeless once more.

From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer

Paramount’s sudden relocation plan has further rattled Hollywood, which already is reeling from thousands of job losses in recent years.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026

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

The data centre boom is generating windfall gains for companies largely overlooked by investors, offering a bright spot in a market rattled by concerns over AI's impact on India's export-oriented tech sector.

From Barron's ● Jul. 31, 2026

Still, the industry’s recovery from a surge in redemption requests from rattled investors remains uneven.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026

But what rattled her most was the quiet.

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

The weeks-long hospitalization of Mitch McConnell, the former Republican leader in the US Senate, was rattling his party's narrow majority on Tuesday as members awaited word on whether he would return.

From Barron's ● Jul. 7, 2026

Video of these rattling sets, juxtaposed against Pop-A-Shot games, swiftly made the rounds on social media.

From Slate ● Jun. 25, 2026

So I dragged that rattling old wagon around the back of the barn.

From "Unusual Chickens for the Exceptional Poultry Farmer" by Kelly Jones

Related Words

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