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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

“These trucks don’t have as much rattle, fumes, exhaust, things of that nature.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 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

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

From "The BFG" by Roald Dahl

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

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 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

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

In the months ahead, he must lay the groundwork for consensus between nearly 200 nations even as the war rattles energy markets, nations scramble for fuel supply and climate change slips down the priority list.

From Barron's ● Jun. 8, 2026

Oil, gas, fertiliser and gold imports are pushing up demand for dollars just as foreign investment inflows weaken, exports slow down and geopolitical uncertainty rattles markets.

From BBC ● May 14, 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

I kick the pay phone so hard it rattles.

From "I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter" by Erika L. Sánchez

News that the otherwise active pope had a cancerous tumour removed from his lung has rattled the Vatican and the world's 1.4 billion Catholics.

From Barron's ● Oct. 17, 2026

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

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026

The finding potentially opens a new front in the cybersecurity threats emerging from AI, which have rattled governments and the companies rushing to adopt the technology.

From Barron's ● Oct. 13, 2026

Stafford was asked this week how he managed to stay calm, not feel rattled and still take shots at clutch plays after committing turnovers in a hostile environment.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 11, 2026

His lips moved when he read, though, so I knew he was a little rattled by all this news.

From "Lawn Boy Returns" by Gary Paulsen

In the olden days, when George Steinbrenner was rattling around in a turtleneck, it would have been different.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 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

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

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

From Salon ● Aug. 31, 2026

The wind whistled louder, rattling the corn, but I gritted my teeth and shook my head.

From "Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky" by Kwame Mbalia

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