From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishrattlerat‧tle1 /ˈrætl/ ●○○ verb 1 [intransitive, transitive]SHAKE 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.2 [intransitive]MOVE/CHANGE POSITION if a vehicle rattles somewhere, it travels there while making a rattling soundrattle along/past/over etc The cart rattled along the stony road. An old blue van rattled into view.3 [transitive] informalFRIGHTENED 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 somebody’s cage → rattle around → rattle something ↔ off → rattle on → rattle through something → rattle up something→ See Verb table
[countable]DHT a baby’s toy that makes a noise when it is shaken3 [countable] British English an object that people shake to make a loud noise and show excitement or encouragement, for example at ceremonies or sports games
Examples from the Corpus
rattle• I woke up to the sound of cups and plates rattling, and knew that Dad was already up.• Sometimes, the bolts work loose and start rattling around.• Steve Merritt in an apparent bid to rattle Clinton.• The man from corporates rattled everyone.• Nothing rattles him.• Keys rattled in his pocket as he walked.• I did find the window open, and locked it myself because of the way it was rattling in the wind.• The windows were rattling in the wind.• The church door was rattling insanely and nothing could be seen through the windows, so fierce was the rain.• There's something rattling inside the washing machine.• Gear changes at 4 a. m. nearly rattled my window.• A battered old Chevrolet rattled past.• Then come the usual suspects, categories that we can rattle through quickly before announcing the big ones.• Once they had done this, they used breathing and rhythmic rattling to induce trance states.• Monday's earthquake rattled windows and woke residents.rattle along/past/over etc• Rain reduced it to 37 overs a side and the home team were soon rattling along.• The train rattled along and we both hung on to the straps looking at each other.• The car rattled along, crossing the myriad narrow gauge loco tracks that ran between the factories lining the route.• The train's wheels were churning, the engine rattling over points and spouting clouds of steam.• Tony went as fast as he could, and I was concentrating on staying on board as we rattled over the bumpy paths.• Now she was rattling along the empty streets, the horse's hooves sounding sharp and crisp in the silence.• They rattled along the main street of what looked like a typical East Anglian village.• Michael Lynagh is still rattling along towards the four-figure mark but not at the same rate.get rattled• If you hit him a couple times, he gets rattled.• He's a good player because he doesn't get rattled easily.• A dispatcher for a small fleet of trucks, he found it hard not to get rattled when the calls piled up.rattlerattle2 noun 1 [countable, uncountable]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► see thesaurus at sound2 [countable]DHT a baby’s toy that makes a noise when it is shaken3 [countable] British English an object that people shake to make a loud noise and show excitement or encouragement, for example at ceremonies or sports gamesExamples from the Corpus
rattle• There was a rattle and a creak from behind me.• Death rattle is what it was.• Foaming liquid sprayed above the dancers' heads and fell to the floor with the dry rattle of earth sprinkled on wood.• A machine gun opened up but its rattle was lost in the second explosion.• Sioux medicine men collected tiny, glistening pebbles from anthills and used them in medicine rattles.• Ponyets heard the staccato rattle of the receiver quite plainly.• Think about the rattle of the electric trains on their way to Southfields and Putney.• I heard the rattle of a key in the door, and knew David was home.• Just then we heard the rattle of a key in the lock.rattle of• the rattle of chainsOrigin rattle1 (1300-1400) Probably from Middle Low German ratelen 