rattletrap

[ rat-l-trap ]
See synonyms for: rattletraprattletraps on Thesaurus.com

noun
  1. a shaky, rattling object, as a rickety vehicle.

Origin of rattletrap

1
First recorded in 1760–70; rattle1 + trap1

Words Nearby rattletrap

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use rattletrap in a sentence

  • It is not gallant in Chauncey to permit the lady to appear in such an antiquated rattletrap.

  • They went out through the doors of the waiting room toward a rattletrap vehicle.

    Badge of Infamy | Lester del Rey
  • "Excuse me from ever taking such a long trip again in an old rattletrap of a boat like that," declared Bluff.

  • Emily, I'm thinkin' of fixin' up Uncle Abner's old rattletrap and openin' a boardin'-house for summer folks in it.

    Thankful's Inheritance | Joseph C. Lincoln
  • The medics were injecting a heart stimulant into him and he was vibrating like a rattletrap car racing over a gravel road.

    The Old Die Rich | Horace Leonard Gold

British Dictionary definitions for rattletrap

rattletrap

/ (ˈrætəlˌtræp) /


noun
  1. informal a broken-down old vehicle, esp an old car

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012