rattle

/ˈɹæ.təl/

rattle verb: to create a rattling sound by shaking or striking. Also the alternative form of rottol.

Image: Marcus Quigmire from Florida, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Verb

rattle (third-person singular simple present rattles, present participle rattling, simple past and past participle rattled)

(ergative, transitive) 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.
(figuratively, informal, transitive) 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?”1923 May 17, P[elham] G[renville] Wodehouse, “(please specify the page)”, in The Inimitable Jeeves, London: Herbert Jenkins, →OCLC
- 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.2014 August 26, Richard Rae, “Manchester United humbled by MK Dons after Will Grigg hits double”, in The Guardian
(intransitive) To make a rattling noise; to make noise by or from shaking.
- I wish the dashboard in my car would quit rattling.
(obsolete, transitive) 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.c. 1596 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Life and Death of King Iohn”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward]...
(obsolete, transitive) 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 Degree1692, Roger L’Estrange, “ (please specify the fable number.) (please specify the name of the fable.)”, in Fables, of Æsop and Other Eminent Mythologists: […], London: […] R[ichard] Sare, […], →OCLC
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 talk rapidly and idly; often with on or away.
- She rattled on for an hour.
(UK, slang) To experience withdrawal from drugs.

Noun

rattle (countable and uncountable, plural rattles)

Any of various plants of the genera Rhinanthus and Pedicularis, whose seeds produce a rattling noise in the wind.
A baby’s toy designed to make sound when shaken, usually containing loose grains or pellets in a hollow container.
- Pleas'd with a rattle, tickled with a straw.1733, [Alexander Pope], An Essay on Man. […], (please specify |epistle=I to IV), London: […] J[ohn] Wilford, […], →OCLC
A musical instrument that makes a rattling sound.
- The rattles of Isis and the cymbals of Brasilea nearly enough resemble each other.1614, Walter Ralegh [i.e., Walter Raleigh], The Historie of the World […], London: […] William Stansby for Walter Burre, […], →OCLC, (please specify |book=1 to 5)
A device which produces a loud rattling sound, especially one having a ratchet mechanism and spun round on a handle.
- [T]he footpath to Hendon went across hay and corn fields and in summer the sound of rattles used by boys hired to "fray" the birds from the crops was familiar.1977, K.M. Elizabeth Murray, Caught in the Web of Words, Oxford: Oxford University Press, page 107
The set of rings at the end of a rattlesnake's tail which produce a rattling sound.
- The rattle of the rattlesnake is composed of the hardened terminal scales, loosened in succession, but not cast off, and modified in form so as to make a series of loose, hollow joints.
- The majority of snakes were killed on the spot, as a snaker only had to produce the rattles to collect the bounty.2017, Kenny Salwey, J. Scott Bestul, The Last River Rat: Kenny Salwey's Life in the Wild
(onomatopoeic) A rapid succession of percussive sounds, as made by loose objects shaking or vibrating against one another.
- I wish they would fix the rattle under my dashboard.
- The rattle of a drum.1902, Arthur M. Winfield, The Rover Boys in the Mountains, Chapter 4
(archaic) Noisy, rapid talk; babble.
- All this adoe about the golden age is but an empty rattle and frivolous conceipt.1627, G[eorge] H[akewill], An Apologie of the Power and Prouidence of God in the Gouernment of the World. […], Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] Iohn Lichfield and William Turner, […], →OCLC
(archaic, uncountable) Trivial chatter; gossip.
- “And pray where, Lady Honoria,” cried Mrs. Delvile, “do you contrive to pick up all this rattle?”1782, Frances Burney, Cecilia, III.v.5
A noisy, senseless talker; a jabberer.
- ‘Sir James is a young Man of an amiable disposition, and excellent character;—a little too much of the Rattle perhaps, but a year or two will rectify that […].’c. 1794, Jane Austen, Lady Susan
- It may seem strange that a man who wrote with so much perspicuity, vivacity, and grace, should have been, whenever he took a part in conversation, an empty, noisy, blundering rattle.1856 February, [Thomas Babington] Macaulay, “Oliver Goldsmith”, in T[homas] F[lower] E[llis], editor, The Miscellaneous Writings and Speeches of Lord Macaulay, new edition, London: Longman, Green...
(obsolete) A scolding; a sharp rebuke.
A rough noise produced in the throat by air passing through obstructed airways; croup; a death rattle.

Also used as

rattle is also the alternative form of rottol.

rattle meaning in Hindi, Tagalog, Arabic and Vietnamese

rattle in Arabic

to make a rattling noise: قَعْقَعَ qaʕqaʕa
baby’s toy: خُشْخِيشَة ḵušḵīša, شُخْلِيلَة šuḵlīla

rattle in Vietnamese

to create a sound by shaking: rung lách cách, rung lạch cạch
sound: lách cách, lạch cạch

Examples of rattle in a sentence

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.2011 February 5, Michael Kevin Darling, “Tottenham 2 - 1 Bolton”, in BBC:
But the discovery of a double agent has rattled German political circles.2023 February 17, Erika Solomon, Christopher F. Schuetze, Julian E. Barnes, “A Russian Mole in Germany Sows Suspicions at Home, and...

All 40 example sentences with rattle

Forms of rattle

Verb
third-person singular present	rattles
present participle	rattling
past participle	rattled
past	rattled
Noun
plural	rattles

Past tense of rattle: rattled

Plural of rattle: rattles

Origin of rattle

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.

From Arabic رَطْل (raṭl), variant of classical رِطْل (riṭl), ultimately from Ancient Greek λίτρα (lítra). Doublet of liter.

Words formed from rattle

Phrases with rattle

Words that rhyme with rattle

Questions about rattle

What does rattle mean?: Rattle means to create a rattling sound by shaking or striking.
What is rattle in Hindi?: Rattle in Hindi is झुनझुना (jhunjhunā). See Rattle meaning in Hindi.
How do you use rattle in a sentence?: 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.
What part of speech is rattle?: Rattle can be a verb or a noun.
How do you pronounce rattle?: Rattle is pronounced /ˈɹæ.təl/.
What is the past tense of rattle?: The past tense of rattle is rattled.

Words near rattle in the dictionary

Adapted from Wiktionary: rattle (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-rattle.wav.

Cite this entry: “rattle.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/rattle. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.