rustle

verb

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rus·tle | \ ˈrə-səl

rustled; rustling\ ˈrə-s(ə-)liŋ

Definition of rustle

(Entry 1 of 2)

intransitive verb

1 : to make or cause a rustle

2a : to act or move with energy or speed

b : to forage food

3 : to steal cattle

transitive verb

1 : to cause to rustle

2a : to obtain by one's own exertions —often used with up able to rustle up $5,000 bail— Jack McCallum

b : forage

3 : to steal (livestock) especially from a farm or ranch

rustle

noun

Definition of rustle (Entry 2 of 2)

: a quick succession or confusion of small sounds

Synonyms Example Sentences Learn More about rustle

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Synonyms for rustle

Synonyms: Verb

Examples of rustle in a Sentence

Verb The trees rustled in the wind. Her skirt rustled as she walked. He rustled the papers on his desk. Noun He heard a rustle of leaves behind him.

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb Government and philanthropic funding is no match for corporate purses, and few institutions can rustle up the data and computing power needed to match work from companies like Google. — Tom Simonite, Wired, 8 June 2021 Last week, Anthony Blinken, the US secretary of State, headlined an online fundraiser to rustle up an additional $2 billion from private donors. — Samanth Subramanian, Quartz, 19 Apr. 2021 During the winter months, Comanches and Lipan Apaches crossed the Rio Grande to rustle livestock, and the Mexican military lacked even the most basic supplies to stop them. — Alice Baumgartner, The New Yorker, 19 Nov. 2020 Earlier this month, Ingrid Sanchez tried to rustle up votes here for the ruling Socialist Party in Petare, Venezuela's largest barrio. — Stefano Pozzebon, CNN, 18 Dec. 2020 And that could happen if recall organizers rustle up a couple of big checks. — Phil Matier, SFChronicle.com, 9 Dec. 2020 Perfectly sized to rustle up meals, snacks, sides and desserts for two, this six-function pot will quickly become your countertop essential. — Laura Sutherland, CNN Underscored, 29 Nov. 2020 There’s also real-life activist Elizabeth Gurley Flynn, who comes to Spokane to rustle up support for labor unions. — Antonia Hitchens, WSJ, 22 Oct. 2020 The grays, which spend much of their time hunting in the open waters of the Indo-Pacific, are too big—and too slow—to rustle up fish from the reef this way. — Joshua Rapp Learn, Science | AAAS, 2 Oct. 2020 Recent Examples on the Web: Noun The rustle of food wrappers, a stray cough, a camera shutter—noises that would otherwise fade into the hum of having 15,000 people in the same place—suddenly sound to players like a Led Zeppelin concert. — Joshua Robinson, WSJ, 4 June 2021 Capturing the delicate rustle of these small moments is Rousay’s way of magnifying the inherent joy in them. — New York Times, 3 May 2021 Amid the rustle of paper, the sounds of a pencil scribbling away and a calming fire crackling in the background, 27-year-old Hani Kang sits at her desk and pages through books for 12 hours straight. — Hakyung Kate Lee, ABC News, 23 Apr. 2021 The scuff of a bare foot on sand, the rustle of a paper, a single word said in a whisper? — BostonGlobe.com, 16 Apr. 2021 The mood is the rustle of taffeta, Fragonard color, the glint of bronze doré. — Kelly Allen, House Beautiful, 12 Mar. 2021 Our hunter-gatherer ancestors survived by assuming every rustle in the grasses was a lurking hungry lion, not harmless birds hunting for seeds. — Popular Science, 4 Jan. 2021 Our hunter-gatherer ancestors survived by assuming every rustle in the grasses was a lurking hungry lion, not harmless birds hunting for seeds. — The Conversation, oregonlive, 29 Dec. 2020 Our hunter-gatherer ancestors survived by assuming every rustle in the grasses was a lurking hungry lion, not harmless birds hunting for seeds. — Popular Science, 4 Jan. 2021

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'rustle.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.