Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A gurgling or rattling sound sometimes made in the throat of a dying person, caused by loss of the cough reflex and passage of the breath through accumulating mucus.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A rattling sound sometimes heard in the last labored breathing of a dying person.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun The raspy or gurgling sound sometimes made by a person as he or she draws in or expels the final breaths in the moments before dying.

Etymologies

Sorry, no etymologies found.

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word death rattle.

Examples

    Sorry, no example sentences found.

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.