intransitive verb rattled -·tled, rattling -·tling

1. to make a series of sharp, short sounds in quick succession
2. to go or move with such sounds a wagon rattling over the stones
3. to talk rapidly and incessantly; chatter: often with on

Etymology: ME ratelen, prob. of WGmc echoic orig., akin to Ger rasseln

transitive verb

1. to cause to rattle to rattle the handle of a door
2. to utter or perform rapidly
3. ☆ to confuse or upset; disconcert to rattle a speaker with catcalls

noun

1. a quick succession of sharp, short sounds
2. a rattling noise made by air passing through the mucus of a partly closed throat
3. a noisy uproar; loud chatter
4. ☆
   1. a series of horny rings at the end of a rattlesnake's tail, used to produce a rattling sound
   2. any of these
5. a device, as a baby's toy or a percussion instrument, made to rattle when shaken