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.
to move or go, especially rapidly, with such sounds.
The car rattled along the highway.
to talk rapidly; chatter.
He rattled on for an hour about his ailments.
to cause to rattle.
He rattled the doorknob violently.
to drive, send, bring, etc., especially rapidly, with rattling sounds.
The wind rattled the metal can across the roadway.
to utter or perform in a rapid or lively manner.
to rattle off a list of complaints.
to disconcert or confuse (a person).
A sudden noise rattled the speaker.
Hunting. to stir up (a cover).
a rapid succession of short, sharp sounds, as from the collision of hard bodies.
an instrument contrived to make a rattling sound, especially a baby's toy filled with small pellets that rattle when shaken.
the series of horny, interlocking elements at the end of the tail of a rattlesnake, with which it produces a rattling sound.
a rattling sound in the throat, as the death rattle.
to make or cause to make a rapid succession of short sharp sounds, as of loose pellets colliding when shaken in a container
to shake or cause to shake with such a sound
the explosion rattled the windows
to send, move, drive, etc, with such a sound
the car rattled along the country road
to chatter idly; talk, esp at length
he rattled on about his work
(tr; foll by off, out etc) to recite perfunctorily or rapidly
informal (tr) to disconcert; make frightened or anxious
a rapid succession of short sharp sounds
an object, esp a baby's toy, filled with small pellets that rattle when shaken
a series of loosely connected horny segments on the tail of a rattlesnake, vibrated to produce a rattling sound
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 )
idle chatter
an idle chatterer
med another name for rale
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English verb rat(t)elen, ratlen, cognate with Dutch ratelen, German rasseln ); of imitative origin
First recorded in 1720–30; back formation from ratling ratline (taken as verbal noun)
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.
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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
A pullback in big tech capex may rattle markets, say Panmure Liberum strategists.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 18, 2026
I hear the rattle of pebbles as he slides down.
From "Wayward Creatures" by Dayna Lorentz
This performance was under the guiding baton of Sir Simon Rattle, with whom Brendel shared a longstanding, prodigious musical partnership.
From BBC ● Jun. 17, 2025
The latest season of the murder mystery comedy series gave Short’s character, Oliver Putnam, a chance to turn his murder mystery stage play into an outrageous Broadway musical called “Death Rattle Dazzle!”
From Los Angeles Times ● May 28, 2024
A group of prominent musicians, including the conductor Simon Rattle, the pianist Martha Argerich and the violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter published a statement on Thursday condemning the hall, saying it was capitulating to protesters.
From New York Times ● May 16, 2024
Adams was just back in town after the London premiere of his latest wild and wildly engaging symphonic score, “Frenzy,” conducted by Simon Rattle with the London Symphony.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 4, 2024
I just found this new band Piggy's Death Rattle.
From "From Twinkle, with Love" by Sandhya Menon
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
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 rupee has hit new lows against the dollar, as a flight-to-safety buoys the greenback and rattles emerging-market currencies.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 19, 2026
The thought of garnishing wages from seniors on fixed incomes particularly rattles Pressley.
From Salon ● Mar. 17, 2026
She blinks those outrageously long lashes and sighs, a great whooshing exhalation that rattles all through her trunk.
From "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen
For several months now, stocks linked to the sector have been regularly rattled by such fears.
From Barron's ● Jul. 23, 2026
She recalled getting emotional and "a bit rattled" as the evening approached.
From BBC ● Jul. 18, 2026
The workers, deeply rattled but physically unharmed, have been returned to their families.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 18, 2026
Fears that AI tools from companies such as Anthropic and OpenAI would replace software have rattled the shares of Salesforce, Workday and Snowflake over the last year.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 16, 2026
The explosion rattled Nate’s bones—and almost sent him leaping into the water in fear.
From I Survived the American Revolution, 1776 by Lauren Tarshis
Last year, a series of radar and radio outages caused travel chaos at Newark, rattling controllers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 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
A good biscuit seems to become more itself after rattling around in a basket for a while.
From Salon ● Jun. 18, 2026
The drama, the music, the pow-pow-pow of those 6-inch guns and those gallant—yes, “most beautiful”—ships rattling amid the waves.
From Slate ● Jun. 11, 2026
Within seconds he was stabbing out moves, trying combinations, seeking won endings, and rattling off variations, his fingers barely able to keep pace with his thoughts.
From "Endgame" by Frank Brady
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
