rattle
verbEtymology
From Middle English ratelen, of uncertain origin; perhaps borrowed from Middle Dutch ratelen or of native origin related to Old English hratele, hrætele (“a plant known for its rustling or rattling sound”), ultimately imitative. The noun (c. 1500) is from the verb.
Definitions
To create a rattling sound by shaking or striking.
- to rattle a chain
- Rattle the can of cat treats if you need to find Fluffy.
- It was a deflating end to the drama for the hosts and they appeared ruffled, with Bolton going close to a leveller when Johan Elmander rattled the bar with a header from Matt Taylor’s cross.
To scare, startle, unsettle, or unnerve.
- “Tut!” said old Bittlesham. “Tut is right”, I agreed. Then the rumminess of the thing struck me. “But if you haven’t dropped a parcel over the race,” I said, “why are you looking so rattled?”
- That United were rattled, mentally as well as at times physically – legitimately so – was beyond question. Nick Powell clipped a crisp drive a foot over the bar, but otherwise Milton Keynes had the best of the remainder of the first half.
- The German authorities are still trying to determine what damage their mole may have done. But the discovery of a double agent has rattled German political circles.
To make a rattling noise
To make a rattling noise; to make noise by or from shaking.
- I wish the dashboard in my car would quit rattling.
›+ 8 more definitionsshow fewer
To assail, annoy, or stun with a rattling noise.
- Sound but another [drum], and another shall / As loud as thine rattle the welkin’s ear.
To scold
To scold; to rail at.
- This came to the Bishop's Ear, who presently sent for the Curate, Rattled him to some Tune, with Menaces to the Highest Degree
To drive or ride briskly, so as to make a clattering.
- We rattled along for a couple of miles.
To make a clatter with one's voice
To make a clatter with one's voice; to talk rapidly and idly; often with on or away.
- She rattled on for an hour.
To experience withdrawal from drugs.
Object that rattles.
Rattling sound.
- I wish they would fix the rattle under my dashboard.
- The rattle of a drum.
Alternative form of rottol
Alternative form of rottol: a former Middle Eastern and North African unit of dry weight usually equal to 1–5 lb (0.5–2.5 kg).
The neighborhood
Derived
death rattle, death-rattle, rattlesnake, rattle about, rattle around, rattle a saber, rattle a sabre, rattle can, rattle-free, rattle off, rattle on, rattle one's hocks, rattle one's saber, rattle one's sabre, rattler, rattle sabres, rattle someone's cage, rattle someone's chain, rattle the bones, rattle the saber, rattle the sabre, rattle through, rattletrap, rattle trap, rerattle, saber rattle, saber-rattle, sabre-rattle, sabre rattle, sabre-rattling, unrattled, antirattle, berattle, gourd rattle, in the rattle, rattleback, rattlebag, rattlebox, rattlebrain, rattlebrained · +23 more
Vish — recursive loop
No curated loop yet for rattle. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.
sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA