Word.ws English Dictionary

rustling

rustling is the present participle and gerund of rustle.

Meaning of rustle

Verb

rustle (third-person singular simple present rustles, present participle rustling, simple past and past participle rustled)

  1. (ergative) To move (something) with a soft crackling sound.
    • The next day at three o'clock we were again at the door, and the footmen as before; we heard the silk dress rustle, and the lady came down the steps and in an imperious voice, she said, "York, you must put those horses' heads higher, they are not fit to be seen."[1877], Anna Sewell, “Earlshall”, in Black Beauty: […], London: Jarrold and Sons, […], →OCLC, part II, page 104
  2. (transitive) To make or obtain in a lively, energetic way.
    • When at last the lumber was piled again in its rightful place, and the boxes of food had been returned to the shelter from which they had been stolen, the two friends rustled a meal, and then set off on horseback […]1921, William M. McCoy, The Valley of the Sun, page 48
    Synonyms:
    rustle up
  3. (transitive) To steal (cattle or other livestock).

See all 5 meanings of rustle

Noun (1)

rustling (uncountable)

  1. The rounding up and theft of animals, cattle in particular.
    • And if you would like one more fact about this worthy, he was responsible for an Act on the statute book abolishing the death penalty for cattle rustling.2021 September 22, Stephen Roberts, “The writings on the wall...”, in RAIL, number 940, page 71

Noun (2)

rustling (plural rustlings)

  1. A series of rustles.
    • I hear a rustling in the bushes off to my right, and my trigger finger spasms.2006 March 29, Richard Daughty, 321gold
    • The time in the paintings is also deepened by furtive movements and rustlings, mostly thanks to Bonnard’s figures.2009 January 30, Roberta Smith, “Bonnard Late in Life, Searching for the Light”, in New York Times

Forms of rustling

pluralrustlings

Origin of rustling

From Middle English *rustlynge, rustland, from Old English hrīstlende, *hrȳstlende, present participle of Old English *hrȳstlan (“to rustle”), equivalent to rustle + -ing.

From Middle English rusteling, roustlyge, equivalent to rustle + -ing.

Phrases with rustling

Questions about rustling

What does rustling mean?
Rustling means the rounding up and theft of animals, cattle in particular.
What is rustling the present participle and gerund of?
Rustling is the present participle and gerund of rustle.
What part of speech is rustling?
Rustling is a noun.
What is the plural of rustling?
The plural of rustling is rustlings.

Words near rustling in the dictionary

  1. rustless
  2. rustlessness
  3. rustleth
  4. rustlike
  5. rustlin'
  6. rustling
  7. rustling someone's jimmies
  8. rustling up
  9. rustlingly
  10. rustlings
  11. rustly

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: rustling (page history and authors); rustle (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.

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