What is rustle?

Rustle is the sound something makes when it moves quickly through air or another material, like when you shake a bag of chips or run your hand through leaves.

Imagine you're playing with a blanket on a windy day. The wind pushes against the blanket, and it starts to flap up and down, that whooshing sound is rustle. Or think about when you pull out a crumpled paper from your backpack, it makes a little shush-shush noise as it unfolds.

When something moves fast, like the blanket or the paper, it pushes air aside and pulls it back in again. Each time it moves, it creates small waves of air that travel to our ears, making us hear the rustle sound.

You can even make rustle with your own body, try scrunching up your fists and moving them through the air quickly. You’ll feel a little shush-shush in your ears, that’s rustle, too!