rustling
rustling Lexical Profile
rustling Game Scores & Validity
• adjective
Making a soft, muffled crackling or whispering sound, such as that caused by dry leaves, paper, or fabric rubbing together.
"We walked along the forest trail beneath a canopy of rustling autumn leaves."
• noun
A soft, muffled crackling sound like that made by the movement of dry leaves, paper, or silk.
"A faint rustling in the underbrush alerted the hikers to the presence of a deer."
North American The crime or act of rounding up and stealing livestock, especially cattle or horses.
"Ranchers in thenineteenth-century American West formed local associations to combat cattle rustling."
• Rhymes for rustling
Word Origin & Etymology
From Middle English 'ruslen', of imitative origin, echoing the soft, dry friction of leaves or fabric; the sense of stealing cattle arose in 19th-century American English from the older idiom 'to rustle', meaning to move briskly or hustle.