death rattle

noun

1. The raspy or gurgling sound sometimes made by a person while drawing in or expelling their final breaths before dying.

   “The death-rattle gurgled in the throat of his opponent; his arms fell heavily to his side.”

   “George Martin had died as though in his sleep, so quietly that no one had even guessed. And what Peter had imagined to be his snores had really been the lonesome death rattle.”

2. Activity by an entity (such as an individual, business or ideology) perceived as almost finished, especially if this activity appears weak or futile.

   “There is, however, an alternative view of this bleak period in transit's history. It is our thesis that the crisis is both the death rattle of outdated institutions for delivering transportation service and the painful birth of many new delivery systems.”

   “Instead, after this introductory essay, my story begins with the death rattle of the American communist movement and the birth of the New Left.”

3. The sound of a batsman’s stumps being broken, so called because this leads to the batsman’s dismissal.