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
But the line that keeps rattling around in my head isn’t aimed at anyone in particular.
—
Alison Willmore, Vulture, 13 Jan. 2025
The ball rattled around the hole but never once hit the green.
—Ryan Canfield, Fox News, 8 Feb. 2025
Day and night, the thought rattled around in his brain, leaving room for little else.
—Ryan Kartje, Los Angeles Times, 27 Jan. 2025
The two of us are like, rattling around the house looking at each other.
—EW.com, 17 Jan. 2025
Ben’s comment about Sisyphus the night before rattled around in my head.
—Hazlitt, 3 Dec. 2024
One level above us, Arthur is rattling around a van, so his gravity is constantly shifting.
—Vikram Murthi, Vulture, 4 Mar. 2024
His themes are profound and his exploration of them sincere in films that are imbued with strange and haunting images that rattle around in your subconscious for far too long.
—Lindsey Bahr, San Diego Union-Tribune, 9 Apr. 2024
Like plenty of catchy quotations, this seems unfair, but with half a point rattling around inside.
—Jackson Arn, The New Yorker, 16 Sep. 2024
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Alison Willmore, Vulture, 13 Jan. 2025
The ball rattled around the hole but never once hit the green.
—Ryan Canfield, Fox News, 8 Feb. 2025
Day and night, the thought rattled around in his brain, leaving room for little else.
—Ryan Kartje, Los Angeles Times, 27 Jan. 2025
The two of us are like, rattling around the house looking at each other.
—EW.com, 17 Jan. 2025
Ben’s comment about Sisyphus the night before rattled around in my head.
—Hazlitt, 3 Dec. 2024
One level above us, Arthur is rattling around a van, so his gravity is constantly shifting.
—Vikram Murthi, Vulture, 4 Mar. 2024
His themes are profound and his exploration of them sincere in films that are imbued with strange and haunting images that rattle around in your subconscious for far too long.
—Lindsey Bahr, San Diego Union-Tribune, 9 Apr. 2024
Like plenty of catchy quotations, this seems unfair, but with half a point rattling around inside.
—Jackson Arn, The New Yorker, 16 Sep. 2024
Cite this Entry
“Rattle around.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rattle%20around. Accessed 23 May. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share