rattle around
phrasal verb
rattled around; rattling around; rattles around
informal
: to live or spend time in a place that is very big
Her husband died last year, and now she's just rattling around in that huge house by herself.
We rattled around Europe last summer.
—sometimes used figurativelyAn old song has been rattling around in my head all day.
Examples of rattle around in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Lahren is a B-list right-wing commentator and influencer who’s rattled around various platforms.
—
Lorraine Ali, Los Angeles Times, 19 June 2024
The gimp monster, the little critters that rattled around in the basement, and Dylan McDermott in various states of undress are images no one will soon forget.
—Brian Moylan, Vulture, 26 Apr. 2024
This is the question that has been rattling around in my brain.
—Kevin Roose, New York Times, 9 May 2024
Lane plays Charlie’s first wife, Martha, who fills her divorced days rattling around an empty mansion and doing step aerobics before entering into an extremely improbable flirtation with Raymond Peepgrass.
—Kristen Baldwin, EW.com, 2 May 2024
My husband too has traveled in those intervening years, but there was always a kid, or two, or three rattling around the house in his absence, needing food and cuddles and to be driven to some birthday party, youth sporting event or other.
—Mary McNamara, Los Angeles Times, 4 Mar. 2024
After seeing a movie in a theater, most of us will dump our cardboard popcorn bucket — greased with butter, some leftovers rattling around the bottom — in a trash bin.
—Miles Klee, Rolling Stone, 27 Feb. 2024
The ball rattled around the rim before eventually finding the bottom of the net, giving Liberty a 54-53 lead with under two minutes left.
—Nathan Canilao, The Mercury News, 21 Feb. 2024
But when its comedy isn’t tight as a screw, the play starts to rattle around the edges.
—EW.com, 29 Jan. 2024
Lorraine Ali, Los Angeles Times, 19 June 2024
The gimp monster, the little critters that rattled around in the basement, and Dylan McDermott in various states of undress are images no one will soon forget.
—Brian Moylan, Vulture, 26 Apr. 2024
This is the question that has been rattling around in my brain.
—Kevin Roose, New York Times, 9 May 2024
Lane plays Charlie’s first wife, Martha, who fills her divorced days rattling around an empty mansion and doing step aerobics before entering into an extremely improbable flirtation with Raymond Peepgrass.
—Kristen Baldwin, EW.com, 2 May 2024
My husband too has traveled in those intervening years, but there was always a kid, or two, or three rattling around the house in his absence, needing food and cuddles and to be driven to some birthday party, youth sporting event or other.
—Mary McNamara, Los Angeles Times, 4 Mar. 2024
After seeing a movie in a theater, most of us will dump our cardboard popcorn bucket — greased with butter, some leftovers rattling around the bottom — in a trash bin.
—Miles Klee, Rolling Stone, 27 Feb. 2024
The ball rattled around the rim before eventually finding the bottom of the net, giving Liberty a 54-53 lead with under two minutes left.
—Nathan Canilao, The Mercury News, 21 Feb. 2024
But when its comedy isn’t tight as a screw, the play starts to rattle around the edges.
—EW.com, 29 Jan. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'rattle around.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near rattle around
Cite this Entry
“Rattle around.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rattle%20around. Accessed 2 Jul. 2024.
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