rattletrap

American  

[rat-l-trap] / ˈræt lˌtræp /

noun

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

---

rattletrap British  

/ ˈrætəlˌtræp /

noun

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

---

Etymology

Origin of rattletrap

First recorded in 1760–70; rattle ¹ + trap ¹

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

rattletrap

City leaders were hellbent on a “bold modernization,” as one 1963 headline put it, razing rattletrap buildings for their version of a paved paradise with its million-dollar view of mountains and Puget Sound.

From Seattle Times ● Oct. 17, 2021

Once, on a flight over Cuba, aboard a rattletrap former Soviet military aircraft, I sat in escalating alarm as the cabin filled with a weird mist.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 13, 2020

There’s a rumble outside of tires on gravel, and here comes Phil, gray haired and grizzled, bothered and cantankerous, getting out of his rattletrap, beaten-up truck that he’d backed up to the store.

From Washington Times ● Mar. 5, 2017

He and several colleagues jumped into one of the rattletrap Mercedes taxis that ply the city’s streets, followed the car to a house rented by Colombians and took them by surprise.

From New York Times ● Apr. 9, 2010

Gus’s old rattletrap of a car was in the driveway and the smell of spaghetti sauce drifted through the screen door.

From "Wish" by Barbara O'Connor