: a rattling or gurgling sound produced by air passing through mucus in the lungs and air passages of a dying person
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the WebCrean won’t be bothered with that world anymore, and his words after Georgia’s final loss of the season sounded like a death rattle. Joseph Goodman | Jgoodman@al.com, al, 10 Mar. 2022 No one knows if a dying person finds the death rattle disturbing or distressing, as no one can pretend to know with certainty the inner subjective experience of anyone too ill to express it. Ira Bedzow, STAT, 26 Oct. 2021 After a fourth blow, a plume of black smoke rose from the machine thirty feet into the air in a final death rattle. Andy Greenberg, Wired, 23 Oct. 2020
Word History
First Known Use
1781, in the meaning defined above
Medical Definition
death rattle
noun
: a rattling or gurgling sound produced by air passing through mucus in the lungs and air passages of a dying person