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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

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

Congressional candidate JoAnna Mendoza can quickly rattle off prices from the grocery store in the small town of Eloy, Arizona, where she grew up.

From Salon ● Sep. 9, 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

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

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026

The ear-splitting buzz of the snake’s rattle fills my ears.

From "The Last Cuentista" by Donna Barba Higuera

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 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

He used it for five years and sold it to an insurance man named Rattle.

From "Cannery Row" by John Steinbeck

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

“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

"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

It sounded like when boiling water rattles the pot cover.

From "Adrift" by Paul Griffin

From a podium, Trump rattled off thank-yous to the law’s architects.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026

"As it launched there was this incredible adrenaline and a shockwave that rattled every bone in your body," said the now 70-year-old of the events of 7 December 1972.

From BBC ● Oct. 11, 2026

The moves rattled Silicon Valley executives and California educators who see easy access to the smartest, hardest-working people in the world as one of America’s greatest competitive advantages.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026

Loud explosions rattled the Saudi capital on Monday evening.

From Barron's ● Oct. 6, 2026

By then a raw wind rattled the empty corn shocks, and we were wearing shoes to school.

From "The Teacher’s Funeral" by Richard Peck

CoreWeave’s rising bond yields are rattling AI infrastructure stocks, including GE Vernova, Vertiv and Eaton.

From Barron's ● Oct. 14, 2026

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

Worries about a protracted conflict with Iran, swelling fiscal deficits and rate hikes are rattling global bond markets.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026

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

From Salon ● Aug. 31, 2026

He leaks a long rattling breath through his nose, which makes me shrink into my chair.

From "Muffled" by Jennifer Gennari

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