How to Use rustle in a Sentence
- The trees rustled in the wind.
- He rustled the papers on his desk.
- Her skirt rustled as she walked.
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Birds chirp, and the breeze rustles the leaves.
—Taryn White, Travel + Leisure, 17 Jan. 2026
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As the ocean breeze kicked up, the palms rustled around us.
—Deborah Vankin, Los Angeles Times, 15 June 2026
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Those rustling sounds in the brush might belong to deer — or not.
—Josh Honeycutt, Outdoor Life, 30 Oct. 2025
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Listen to the birds singing and the breeze rustling in the leaves of the trees.
—Qing Li, Time, 1 May 2018
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Skies are clear and blue, and there’s just enough of a breeze to rustle up some leaves.
—Brian Jackson, Washington Post, 29 Oct. 2017
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Not a leaf rustling toward autumn.
—Ellen Bass, New Yorker, 4 May 2026
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The kind of night when lovers toss and turn and palm trees rustle in the moonlight.
—Danielle Amir Jackson Malike Sidibe, New York Times, 11 Oct. 2023
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Apart from wind rustling the leaves of olive trees, the roar of cicadas was the only sound.
—Nick Romeo, The New Republic, 23 Aug. 2023
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The only sound was the wind rustling the leaves of the aspens nearby.
—Cheryl Strayed, Vogue, 17 July 2018
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The wind rustled through the palm trees playing a soothing, raspy tune.
—Fabiola Santiago, miamiherald, 29 Jan. 2018
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Cross, who has lived on the street for 44 years, paused as the wind rustled his white hair.
—Mary Claire Molloy, Indianapolis Star, 2 Apr. 2020
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Maybe your own innermost thoughts, or just the sound of the wind rustling through the trees outside.
—Aj Willingham, CNN, 18 Apr. 2020
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What can sound sort of like rustling livestock is only wind pushing through open doors and cracks in walls.
—Mare Czinar, The Arizona Republic, 23 Feb. 2023
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This is a good time to rustle up some new contacts or network at the workplace.
—Jeraldine Saunders, The Mercury News, 28 Feb. 2017
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But nothing has seemed to rustle him from his second-half slumber.
—Billy Witz, New York Times, 1 Sep. 2017
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Or, in early spring, be lulled by the sound of rustling leaves along the estate's twin lime tree avenues.
—Alex Schechter, Travel + Leisure, 9 Apr. 2023
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Sometimes all the interpreter could hear was the sound of rustling fabric.
—The New Yorker, 27 Apr. 2020
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Windows are open, and a gentle breeze rustles the curtains just right.
—Christianna Silva, Better Homes & Gardens, 15 Aug. 2023
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In their place, palm trees rustle and turquoise water stretches to the horizon.
—The Economist, 4 May 2020
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Teachers talk about being warned against wearing shoes that clack and clothes that rustle.
—Ann Doss Helms, charlotteobserver, 31 May 2018
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After she and Sam were caught rustling horses, she was sentenced to a year in prison.
—Hannah Evans, Dallas News, 21 Jan. 2020
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Then come the peaceful sounds of water spilling from a granite fountain and wind rustling through the leaves.
—Emily Young, Los Angeles Times, 3 Aug. 2019
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The only sounds were the birds, rustling leaves in the soft breeze, and insects buzzing around from flower to flower.
—Lucrezia Worthington, Condé Nast Traveler, 21 June 2026
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This tranquil setting, with the sounds of the waves and palm trees rustling in the tropical breezes, sets the tone.
—Everett Potter, Forbes.com, 18 Jan. 2026
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At the end, a sitting room looked out to a small garden that lulled us with the sounds of rustling palms and trickling water.
—Sarah Souli, Travel + Leisure, 21 Oct. 2023
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When his hand brushed the concrete wall, a carpet of cockroaches rustled.
—Suzanne Sataline, Quartz, 30 Nov. 2019
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As the wind kicked up, the wishes rustled, as if in conversation.
—Deborah Vankin, Los Angeles Times, 10 June 2026
- He heard a rustle of leaves behind him.
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The rustle of the bag seemed to echo across the course and through the canyons.
—San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 Jan. 2022
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They are replaced with shrieks of blue jays and the white-noise rustle of the wind through the leaves.
—Adrian Higgins, idahostatesman, 25 Oct. 2017
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Imagine a sudden rustle in the tall grass.
—Carlo Schuengel, The Conversation, 2 Nov. 2023
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But with the top raised, there’s hardly a rustle of wind noise, so good is the sealing.
—Howard Walker, Robb Report, 8 June 2022
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Some pictures will stir your soul and cause a rustle of recognition.
—Michael Johnston, The New Yorker, 31 Mar. 2022
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Owls hunt with their ears, listening for the rustle of moving prey.
—Jim Williams, Star Tribune, 20 Oct. 2020
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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
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Save for the distant rumble of elephants and gentle rustle of leaves in the breeze.
—Mary Holland, Condé Nast Traveler, 24 Apr. 2018
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Visitors would hear grunts and huffs and the rustle of big creatures moving through brush.
—Brandon Sneed, Outside Online, 4 Apr. 2016
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The Musical, are filled with the rustle of tulle and chiffon.
—Raisa Bruner, Time, 24 July 2019
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Bands of cash, smacked down on surfaces, sound like bricks; loose bills, collected by a dancer, rustle like leaves.
—Doreen St. Félix, The New Yorker, 1 Aug. 2022
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Thunder mutters overhead, the wind picks up, and human cries are half lost in the rustle of leaves.
—The New Yorker, 3 June 2022
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The only sound is the rustle of leaves and crunch of Baskin’s leopard-print boots on the pavement.
—Rachel Nuwer, Longreads, 10 Mar. 2020
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When birdsong and the rustle of marsupials in the bush give way to an eerie, smoky silence.
—Besha Rodell, New York Times, 20 Feb. 2020
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The cry of the distant goshawk, the rustle of flushing wings and the whistle of widgeon is our music.
—Steve Meyer, Anchorage Daily News, 22 Feb. 2020
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There’s no sign of any other home in any direction, no sound of traffic, just the rustle of a breeze through the grass.
—Sunset Magazine, 31 Aug. 2022
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At highway speeds, the car is quiet; wind rustle is all but absent, leaving only tire noise to be heard.
—Joe Lorio, Car and Driver, 5 Apr. 2023
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Whether a light hum or a loud rustle, almost everyone knows someone who snores—even if that person may be you.
—Sarah Fielding, Health.com, 7 Oct. 2021
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The mood is the rustle of taffeta, Fragonard color, the glint of bronze doré.
—Kelly Allen, House Beautiful, 12 Mar. 2021
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Besides your footfalls and breaths, and a rare, welcome rustle of the wind, a stillness surrounds.
—BostonGlobe.com, 30 Sep. 2021
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Everything is quiet apart from the rustle of leaves and the gentle murmur of voices from the bar.
—Irenie Forshaw, TheWeek, 19 Mar. 2026
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The muffled, vaguely sonographic rustle of a pocket, or a purse.
—Meghan O'Gieblyn, Wired, 24 Jan. 2022
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Even the surrounding gum trees seemed in on the secret; the usual rustle of their leaves absent in the stillness.
—Sandra L. Rostirolla, Good Housekeeping, 5 Apr. 2023
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Her voice disappeared into the rustle of leaves and chatter of branches brought on by a strong, late summer wind.
—Freep.com, 1 Nov. 2019
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The rustle of wind rushing through the eucalyptus trees, a non-native grove that shades the campground.
—Christopher Reynolds, latimes.com, 9 June 2019
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The leaves didn’t rustle, but the din of endlessly falling water blanketed the plaza.
—WSJ, 11 Sep. 2021
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The boreal owl's roundish face is disk-shaped, like a radar antenna bouncing the slightest rustle of twigs to the owl's ears.
—Ned Rozell, Anchorage Daily News, 30 June 2018
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One tink of an arrow hitting your blind chair, or the rustle of a candy bar wrapper and his little brain might go into survival mode.
—Tony J. Peterson, Outdoor Life, 9 Apr. 2020
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Perhaps an out-of-place twinkle from deep in the rustle of some bushes, or a delicate rainbow in the light of the local dell.
—Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 25 Aug. 2022
Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'rustle.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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