English Reference
Idiom idiom

rattle off


To list or recite quickly.

Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.


SIMPLE

“She can rattle off all fifty states in under a minute.”

CONTEXTUAL

“The waiter rattled off the daily specials so fast that I had to ask him to repeat them.”

COMPLEX

“Without glancing at his notes, the professor rattled off a dozen dates and names, his memory for historical detail apparently inexhaustible.”


Related idioms1entry
  1. 01

    rattle through

    To do something extremely quickly and perfunctorily.

Last updated August 10, 2026