View synonyms for death rattle

death rattle

noun

a sound produced by a person immediately preceding death, resulting from the passage of air through the mucus in the throat.

death rattle

a low-pitched gurgling sound sometimes made by a dying person, caused by air passing through an accumulation of mucus in the trachea

First recorded in 1820–30

Inside, on the floor, lay a poor old woman, the death-rattle in whose throat proclaimed that her end was fast approaching.

He had the death rattle and was spitting up blood, which ran out of the corners of his mouth at every gasp.

"You come too late, brother," the wounded man murmured, in a voice choking with the death rattle.

I plainly heard the wheeze of blood in its throat, and the sound, like a death-rattle, affected me powerfully.

I walk up to him with finger on trigger at a ready, but the death-rattle is in his throat, and another shot is unnecessary.

April 24, 2024gallimaufry

[gal-uh-maw-free ]

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