Rustling
noun, verb
noun, verb ·2 syllables ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 The rounding up and theft of animals, cattle in particular. uncountable
"And if you would like one more fact about this worthy, he was responsible for an Act on the statute book abolishing the death penalty for cattle rustling."
- 2 A series of rustles.
"I hear a rustling in the bushes off to my right, and my trigger finger spasms."
- 3 the stealing of cattle wordnet
- 4 a light noise, like the noise of silk clothing or leaves blowing in the wind wordnet
Verb
- 1 present participle and gerund of rustle form-of, gerund, participle, present
Adjective
- 1 characterized by soft sounds wordnet
Example
More examples"Just as I thought something was rustling there, a cat leaped out of the bush."
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English *rustlynge, rustland, from Old English hrīstlende, *hrȳstlende, present participle of Old English *hrȳstlan (“to rustle”), equivalent to rustle + -ing.
Etymology 2
From Middle English rusteling, roustlyge, equivalent to rustle + -ing.
More for "rustling"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.