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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

The biggest U.S. automaker has been returning billions to investors even as high interest rates, soaring gas prices and trade wars rattle the global auto industry.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 20, 2026

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

Her first hit item was a baby rattle shaped like a chicken drumstick that was sold wrapped in cellophane, much like a meat-counter purchase.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 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 astronomical clock in any case was so jarred and jiggled by the constant rattle of automobile traffic in the narrow street outside that it was no longer the precision instrument it had been.

From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom

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

Founded by Sahil Aggarwal in 2021 to automate sales workflows, Rattle quickly gained traction with clients including Figma, Notion and Rippling.

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

I just found this new band Piggy's Death Rattle.

From "From Twinkle, with Love" by Sandhya Menon

On the other hand, Casa Vega owner Christy Vega rattles off a long list of complaints when discussing Raman and her office.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 26, 2026

"It would have been a nice place to sing. Bit like singing in a big church or something. The sound rattles around everywhere."

From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2026

It rattles against the hard edges of your brain until it gets polished and smooth.

From Salon ● Aug. 6, 2026

Ann Lipton, a law professor at the University of Colorado, Boulder, said Trump knows the value of his statements and that the more he rattles markets, the more valuable his new service becomes.

From Barron's ● Aug. 4, 2026

My lungs burn; my next breath rattles on the way in.

From "Divergent" by Veronica Roth

Analysts speculated that the haphazard way that the Phase 3 results came out may have rattled investors.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 23, 2026

Perched on a low wall alongside friends, 18-year-old Abdel rattled off the problems that drove him to protest in his final year of secondary school in the eastern suburb of Bagnolet.

From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 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

Now keys rattled outside my own: a very young guard in a very new uniform bounded in.

From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom

"Sometimes at night my baby's chest makes a rattling sound," she says.

From BBC ● Oct. 20, 2026

“That Steve Hilton doesn’t see me on Fox News is his problem, not mine. I am gonna talk to voters,” Becerra said, rattling off a list of his recent campaign events.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 19, 2026

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

From Barron's ● Oct. 14, 2026

That idea has been rattling around my mind after seeing Zach Cregger’s new “Resident Evil,” itself a reboot made in its creator’s image.

From Salon ● Sep. 23, 2026

Max had to tilt his head to the side to avoid rattling the hangers against the rod.

From "The School for Whatnots" by Margaret Peterson Haddix

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