rattle
rat|tle /r'ætəl/ (rattles rattling rattled)
1 [VERB] V, V n
When something rattles or when you rattle it, it makes short sharp knocking sounds because it is being shaken or it keeps hitting against something hard.
She slams the kitchen door so hard I hear dishes rattle...
He gently rattled the cage and whispered to the canary...
[N-COUNT]
Rattle is also a noun.
There was a rattle of rifle-fire.
● rattling [N-SING]
At that moment, there was a rattling at the door.
2 [N-COUNT]
A rattle is a baby's toy with loose bits inside which make a noise when the baby shakes it.
3 [N-COUNT]
A rattle is a wooden instrument that people shake to make a loud knocking noise at football matches or tribal ceremonies.
4 [VERB] V n
If something or someone rattles you, they make you nervous.
She refused to be rattled by his £3,000-a-day lawyer.
= unnerve
● rattled [ADJ] usu v-link ADJ
He swore in Spanish, another indication that he was rattled.
5 [VERB] V prep/adv
You can say that a bus, train or car rattles somewhere when it moves noisily from one place to another.
The bus from Odense rattled into a dusty village called Pozo Almonte...death rat|tle
also death-rattle
[N-SING]
If you say that one thing is the death rattle of another, you mean that the first thing is a sign that very soon the second thing will come to an end. (JOURNALISM)
His rhetoric sounds like the death rattle of a fading leadership.rattle around
[PHRASAL VERB] V P in n, also V P n
If you say that someone rattles around in a room or other space, you mean that the space is too large for them.
We don't want to move, but we're rattling around in our large house.rattle off
[PHRASAL VERB] V P n (not pron), also V n P
If you rattle off something, you say it or do it very quickly and without much effort.
Hendry, playing an afternoon match, rattled off a 6-1 win over the Englishman.
= reel offrattle through
[PHRASAL VERB] V P n
If you rattle through something, you deal with it quickly in order to finish it. (mainly BRIT)
She rattled through a translation from Virgil's Aeneid.
1 [VERB] V, V n
When something rattles or when you rattle it, it makes short sharp knocking sounds because it is being shaken or it keeps hitting against something hard.
She slams the kitchen door so hard I hear dishes rattle...
He gently rattled the cage and whispered to the canary...
[N-COUNT]
Rattle is also a noun.
There was a rattle of rifle-fire.
● rattling [N-SING]
At that moment, there was a rattling at the door.
2 [N-COUNT]
A rattle is a baby's toy with loose bits inside which make a noise when the baby shakes it.
3 [N-COUNT]
A rattle is a wooden instrument that people shake to make a loud knocking noise at football matches or tribal ceremonies.
4 [VERB] V n
If something or someone rattles you, they make you nervous.
She refused to be rattled by his £3,000-a-day lawyer.
= unnerve
● rattled [ADJ] usu v-link ADJ
He swore in Spanish, another indication that he was rattled.
5 [VERB] V prep/adv
You can say that a bus, train or car rattles somewhere when it moves noisily from one place to another.
The bus from Odense rattled into a dusty village called Pozo Almonte...death rat|tle
also death-rattle
[N-SING]
If you say that one thing is the death rattle of another, you mean that the first thing is a sign that very soon the second thing will come to an end. (JOURNALISM)
His rhetoric sounds like the death rattle of a fading leadership.rattle around
[PHRASAL VERB] V P in n, also V P n
If you say that someone rattles around in a room or other space, you mean that the space is too large for them.
We don't want to move, but we're rattling around in our large house.rattle off
[PHRASAL VERB] V P n (not pron), also V n P
If you rattle off something, you say it or do it very quickly and without much effort.
Hendry, playing an afternoon match, rattled off a 6-1 win over the Englishman.
= reel offrattle through
[PHRASAL VERB] V P n
If you rattle through something, you deal with it quickly in order to finish it. (mainly BRIT)
She rattled through a translation from Virgil's Aeneid.