Definition Definition

rattle - Meaning and Examples

Meaning of 'rattle' (Webster Dictionary)

1 . Rattle [ n.]
- A rapid succession of sharp, clattering sounds; as, the rattle of a drum.
- Noisy, rapid talk.
- An instrument with which a rattling sound is made; especially, a child's toy that rattles when shaken.
- A noisy, senseless talker; a jabberer.
- A scolding; a sharp rebuke.
- Any organ of an animal having a structure adapted to produce a rattling sound.
- The noise in the throat produced by the air in passing through mucus which the lungs are unable to expel; -- chiefly observable at the approach of death, when it is called the death rattle. See R/le.
2 . Rattle [ v. i.]
- To make a quick succession of sharp, inharmonious noises, as by the collision of hard and not very sonorous bodies shaken together; to clatter.
- To drive or ride briskly, so as to make a clattering; as, we rattled along for a couple of miles.
- To make a clatter with the voice; to talk rapidly and idly; to clatter; -- with on or away; as, she rattled on for an hour.
3 . Rattle [ v. t.]
- To cause to make a rattling or clattering sound; as, to rattle a chain.
- To assail, annoy, or stun with a rattling noise.
- Hence, to disconcert; to confuse; as, to rattle one's judgment; to rattle a player in a game.
- To scold; to rail at.

Meaning of 'rattle' (Princeton's WordNet)

1 . rattle [ n]
Meaning (1):
- a rapid series of short loud sounds (as might be heard with a stethoscope in some types of respiratory disorders)
Example in sentence:
  • the death rattle