rattler
Americannoun
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something that rattles
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an informal name for rattlesnake
Etymology
Origin of rattler
late Middle English word dating back to 1400–50; see origin at rattle 1, -er 1
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"The four of us -- my husband, our two children, and I were on the bed," when the 7.7-magnitude rattler stuck just north of Flores island at around 5.30 am on Saturday.
From Barron's ● Aug. 16, 2026
The first rattler occurred at a depth of 3.4 miles, and the largest quake was shallower, at 0.1 miles.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 20, 2024
Speaking of summer heat, a sweaty, off-the-deep-end Al Pacino generates plenty of his own in this nerve rattler from Sidney Lumet.
From New York Times ● Jun. 3, 2023
On more than one occasion he's found himself under a house or a trailer in the wee hours of darkness tracking down a copperhead or rattler that needs to be moved.
From Scientific American ● Sep. 18, 2022
The one Laika found was dried and flat, an old rattler that had become an S-shaped band of snake jerky.
From "100 Sideways Miles" by Andrew Smith
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.
