death rattle.

A wet rattling or gurgling sound produced when secretions accumulate in the airways of a person nearing death.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• a death rattle
• the onset of a death rattle

On the page

The death rattle broke the stillness without forming a word.

She heard the onset of a death rattle and called for the nurse.

Usage notes

Primary category: horror. Forms: Singular death rattle; plural death rattles. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings.