rattletrap

[ rat-l-trap ]
See synonyms for rattletrap on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a shaky, rattling object, as a rickety vehicle.

Origin of rattletrap

1
First recorded in 1760–70; rattle1 + trap1

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use rattletrap in a sentence

  • The horse and vehicle aroused no curiosity where odder animals and more curiously antiquated rattletraps were also out.

    The Son of Clemenceau | Alexandre (fils) Dumas
  • Hamish took Judy by the shoulders, bidding her go out and see whether any rattletraps were left in the fly, and so turned it off.

    The Channings | Mrs. Henry Wood
  • And they tumbled about the rattletraps under the cupboard, and rummaged the drawers in search of the sacred volume.

    The House by the Church-Yard | J. Sheridan Le Fanu
  • Every morning she used to go round to teach the children, with these rattletraps in a basket.

    Children's Literature | Charles Madison Curry
  • Say, this is some different from the old rattletraps we used to fly, isnt it?

    Famous Flyers | David Goodger (goodger@python.org)

British Dictionary definitions for rattletrap

rattletrap

/ (ˈrætəlˌtræp) /


noun
  1. informal a broken-down old vehicle, esp an old car

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012