rattle

rat|tle¹ [ˈrætl] v

[Date: 1300-1400; Origin: Probably from Middle Low German ratelen]

1.) [I and T]

if you rattle something, or if it rattles, it shakes and makes a quick series of short sounds

▪ Dan banged on her door and rattled the handle.

▪ The window rattled in the wind.

▪ Bottles rattled as he stacked the beer crates.

see usage note ↑shake¹

2.)

if a vehicle rattles somewhere, it travels there while making a rattling sound

rattle along/past/over etc

▪ The cart rattled along the stony road.

▪ An old blue van rattled into view.

3.) [T] [i]informal

to make someone lose confidence or become nervous

▪ His mocking smile rattled her more than his anger.

▪ It was hard not to get rattled when the work piled up.

▪ His confidence was rattled by the accident.

4.) rattle sb's cage

spoken informal to annoy someone - used humorously

▪ Who rattled your cage?

rattle around phr v

to live in a building that is much too big for you

rattle around in

▪ Dad and I rattled around miserably in the house after Mum died.

rattle off [rattle sth<=>off] phr v

to say several pieces of information or a list quickly and easily from memory

▪ An officer rattled off some statistics about the aid program.

rattle on phr v

to talk quickly for a long time about boring things

= ↑go on rattle on about

▪ Nancy would rattle on for hours about her grandchildren.

rattle through [rattle through sth] phr v

to do something quickly because you want to finish it

rattle up [rattle up sth] phr v

if a sports player rattles up a number of points, they get that number of points very quickly

▪ The West Indies had rattled up 411 for 5 when rain stopped play.

rattle ²

rattle² n

1.) [U and C]

a short repeated sound, made when something shakes

▪ They listened anxiously to every rattle and creak in the house.

rattle of

▪ the rattle of chains

▪ the faint rattle of distant gunfire

→↑death rattle

2.)

a baby's toy that makes a noise when it is shaken

3.) BrE

an object that people shake to make a loud noise and show excitement or encouragement, for example at ceremonies or sports games