rattle
/ˈɹæ.təl/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.35 in modern English
6
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
2
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
verb
To drive or ride briskly, so as to make a clattering.
Example Sentences
- "to rattle a chain"
- "Rattle the can of cat treats if you need to find Fluffy."
- "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."
- "“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?”"
- "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."
- "The German authorities are still trying to determine what damage their mole may have done. But the discovery of a double agent has rattled German political circles."
Etymology
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.
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: ratelen, رَطْل, λίτρα