rattle

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
rattle/ˈratl/

▶verb

• 1 make or cause to make a rapid succession of short, sharp knocking sounds.

  ■ move or travel with a knocking sound: trains rattled past.

• 2 informal make nervous, worried, or irritated.

• 3 (rattle about/around in) be in or occupy (an unnecessarily large space).

• 4 (rattle something off) say, perform, or produce something quickly and effortlessly.

• 5 (rattle on/away) talk rapidly and at length.

▶noun

• 1 a rattling sound.

• 2 a thing that makes a rattling sound, in particular a baby's toy consisting of a container filled with small pellets.

  ■ the set of horny rings at the end of a rattlesnake's tail.

• 3 a gurgling sound in the throat.

• 4 archaic a person who chatters constantly.

– phrases
rattle sabres threaten to take aggressive action.

– derivatives
rattly adjective.

– origin ME: rel. to MDu. and Low Ger. ratelen, of imitative origin.