Rattletrap
adj, noun, slang ·Moderate ·High school level
Definitions
- 1 A mechanical device, particularly an automobile, that is worn out, run down, or mechanically unreliable as indicated by noises it makes in operation. informal
"Mom always worried about our safety in my friend's rattletrap. I told her not to worry, as it can't go fast enough to be dangerous."
- 2 Any piece of miscellaneous equipment or junk. dated
"And they tumbled about the rattletraps under the cupboard, and rummaged the drawers in search of the sacred volume."
- 3 A type of noisemaker in which the teeth of a gear repeatedly bend and release a stiff tongue.
- 4 A person's mouth. dated, derogatory, slang
"Shut your rattletrap!"
- 1 Mechanically unreliable or in disrepair. not-comparable
"2006, Paul McGeough, Bush 'palace' shielded from Iraqi storm, theage.com.au, August 26, http://www.theage.com.au/news/world/bush-palace-shielded-from-iraqi-storm/2006/08/25/1156012740594.html, All services for the biggest embassy in the world will operate independently from the rattletrap utilities of the Iraqi capital. (speaking of the new US Embassy in Baghdad)"
Example
More examples"2006, Paul McGeough, Bush 'palace' shielded from Iraqi storm, theage.com.au, August 26, http://www.theage.com.au/news/world/bush-palace-shielded-from-iraqi-storm/2006/08/25/1156012740594.html, All services for the biggest embassy in the world will operate independently from the rattletrap utilities of the Iraqi capital. (speaking of the new US Embassy in Baghdad)"
Etymology
From rattle + trap.
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.