RATTLER

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does rattler mean? 

• RATTLER (noun)
  The noun RATTLER has 2 senses:

1. pit viper with horny segments at the end of the tail that rattle when shaken

2. a railroad train consisting of freight cars

  Familiarity information: RATTLER used as a noun is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• RATTLER (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Pit viper with horny segments at the end of the tail that rattle when shaken

Classified under:

Nouns denoting animals

Synonyms:

rattler; rattlesnake

Hypernyms ("rattler" is a kind of...):

pit viper (New World vipers with hollow fangs and a heat-sensitive pit on each side of the head)

Meronyms (parts of "rattler"):

rattle (loosely connected horny sections at the end of a rattlesnake's tail)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "rattler"):

Crotalus adamanteus; diamondback; diamondback rattlesnake (large deadly rattlesnake with diamond-shaped markings)

banded rattlesnake; Crotalus horridus horridus; timber rattlesnake (widely distributed in rugged ground of eastern United States)

Crotalus viridis; prairie rattler; prairie rattlesnake; Western rattlesnake (widely distributed between the Mississippi and the Rockies)

Crotalus cerastes; horned rattlesnake; sidewinder (small pale-colored desert rattlesnake of southwestern United States; body moves in an s-shaped curve)

Crotalus atrox; Western diamondback; Western diamondback rattlesnake (largest and most dangerous North American snake; of southwestern United States and Mexico)

Crotalus lepidus; rock rattlesnake (mountain rock dweller of Mexico and most southern parts of United States southwest)

Crotalus tigris; tiger rattlesnake (having irregularly cross-banded back; of arid foothills and canyons of southern Arizona and Mexico)

Crotalus scutulatus; Mojave rattlesnake (extremely dangerous; most common in areas of scattered scrubby growth; from Mojave Desert to western Texas and into Mexico)

Crotalus mitchellii; speckled rattlesnake (markings vary but usually harmonize with background; of southwestern Arizona and Baja California)

massasauga; massasauga rattler; Sistrurus catenatus (pygmy rattlesnake found in moist areas from the Great Lakes to Mexico; feeds on mice and small amphibians)

ground rattler; massasauga; Sistrurus miliaris (small pygmy rattlesnake)

Holonyms ("rattler" is a member of...):

Crotalidae; family Crotalidae (New World vipers: pit vipers)

Derivation:

rattle (shake and cause to make a rattling noise)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A railroad train consisting of freight cars

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

freight train; rattler

Hypernyms ("rattler" is a kind of...):

railroad train; train (public transport provided by a line of railway cars coupled together and drawn by a locomotive)

Meronyms (members of "rattler"):

cabin car; caboose (a car on a freight train for use of the train crew; usually the last car on the train)

freight car (a railway car that carries freight)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "rattler"):

freight liner; liner train (a long-distance express freight train between industrial centers and seaports with facilities for rapid loading and unloading of goods)