2 N‑COUNT A rattle is a baby's toy with loose bits inside which make a noise when the baby shakes it.
3 N‑COUNT A rattle is a wooden instrument that people shake to make a loud knocking noise at football matches or tribal ceremonies.
4 VERB If something or someone rattles you, they make you nervous. □ [be V -ed + by ] She refused to be rattled by his £3,000-a-day lawyer. ● rat|tled ADJ [usu v-link ADJ ] □ He swore in Spanish, another indication that he was rattled.
5 VERB You can say that a bus, train, or car rattles somewhere when it moves noisily from one place to another. □ [V prep/adv] The bus from Odense rattled into a dusty village called Pozo Almonte.
▸ rattle around PHRASAL VERB If you say that someone rattles around in a room or other space, you mean that the space is too large for them. □ [V P + in ] We don't want to move, but we're rattling around in our large house. [Also V P n]
▸ rattle off PHRASAL VERB If you rattle off something, you say it or do it very quickly and without much effort. □ [V P n] I started writing a blog on the season and, within two days, I had rattled off 10,000 words. [Also V n P ]
▸ rattle through PHRASAL VERB If you rattle through something, you deal with it quickly in order to finish it. [mainly BRIT ] □ [V P n] She rattled through a translation from Virgil's Aeneid.
rat|tler /ræ tlə r / (rattlers ) N‑COUNT A rattler is the same as a rattlesnake . [AM , INFORMAL ]
rattle|snake /ræ t ə lsne I k/ (rattlesnakes ) N‑COUNT A rattlesnake is a poisonous American snake which can make a rattling noise with its tail.
rat|ty /ræ ti/ (rattier , rattiest )
1 ADJ If someone is ratty , they get angry and irritated easily. [BRIT , INFORMAL ] □ I had spent too many hours there and was beginning to get a bit ratty and fed up.
2 ADJ Ratty clothes and objects are torn or in bad condition, especially because they are old. [AM ] □ …my ratty old flannel pyjamas.
rau|cous /rɔː kəs/ ADJ [usu ADJ n] A raucous sound is loud, harsh, and rather unpleasant. □ They heard a bottle being smashed, then more raucous laughter. ● rau|cous|ly ADV [usu ADV with v] □ They laughed together raucously.
raun|chy /rɔː ntʃi/ (raunchier , raunchiest ) ADJ If a film, a person, or the way that someone is dressed is raunchy , they are sexually exciting. [INFORMAL ] □ …her raunchy new movie.
rav|age /ræ v I dʒ/ (ravages , ravaging , ravaged ) VERB [usu passive] A town, country, or economy that has been ravaged is one that has been damaged so much that it is almost completely destroyed. □ [be V -ed] For two decades the country has been ravaged by civil war and foreign intervention. □ [V -ed] …Nicaragua's ravaged economy.
rav|ages /ræ v I dʒiz/ N‑PLURAL The ravages of time, war, or the weather are the damaging effects that they have. □ [+ of ] …a hi-tech grass pitch that can survive the ravages of a cold, wet climate.
rave /re I v/ (raves , raving , raved )
1 VERB If someone raves , they talk in an excited and uncontrolled way. □ [V ] She cried and raved for weeks, and people did not know what to do. □ [V with quote] 'What is wrong with you, acting like that,' she raved, pacing up and down frantically.
2 VERB If you rave about something, you speak or write about it with great enthusiasm. □ [V + about ] Rachel raved about the new foods she ate while she was there. □ [V with quote] 'Such lovely clothes. I'd no idea Milan was so wonderful,' she raved.
3 N‑COUNT A rave is a big event at which young people dance to electronic music in a large building or in the open air. Raves are often associated with illegal drugs. [BRIT ] □ …an all-night rave at Castle Donington. ● ADJ [ADJ n] Rave is also an adjective. □ Old faces and new talents are making it big on the rave scene.
4 → see also raving
5 to rant and rave → see rant
ra|ven /re I v ə n/ (ravens ) N‑COUNT A raven is a large bird with shiny black feathers and a deep harsh call.
rav|en|ous /ræ vənəs/ ADJ If you are ravenous , you are extremely hungry. □ She realized that she had eaten nothing since leaving home, and she was ravenous. ● rav|en|ous|ly ADV □ She began to eat ravenously.
rav|er /re I və r / (ravers ) N‑COUNT A raver is a young person who has a busy social life and goes to a lot of parties, raves, or nightclubs. [BRIT , INFORMAL ]
ra ve re|vie w (rave reviews ) N‑COUNT [usu pl] When journalists write rave reviews , they praise something such as a play or book in a very enthusiastic way. □ The play received rave reviews from the critics.
ra|vine /rəviː n/ (ravines ) N‑COUNT A ravine is a very deep narrow valley with steep sides. □ The bus is said to have overturned and fallen into a ravine.
rav|ing /re I v I ŋ/
1 ADJ [usu ADJ n] You use raving to describe someone who you think is completely mad. [INFORMAL ] □ Malcolm looked at her as if she were a raving lunatic. ● ADV [ADV adj] Raving is also an adverb. □ I'm afraid Jean-Paul has gone raving mad.
2 → see also rave
rav|ings /re I v I ŋz/ N‑PLURAL If you describe what someone says or writes as their ravings , you mean that it makes no sense because they are mad or very ill. □ Haig and Robertson saw it as the lunatic ravings of a mad politician.